history of the harte research institute for gulf of mexico

Gulf of Mexico ScienceVolume 28Number 1 Number 1/2 (Combined Issue) Article 8

2010

History of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf ofMexico Studies at Texas A&M University–CorpusChristiJohn W. Tunnell Jr.Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi

DOI: 10.18785/goms.2801.08Follow this and additional works at: https://aquila.usm.edu/goms

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Recommended CitationTunnell, J. W. Jr. 2010. History of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi.Gulf of Mexico Science 28 (1).Retrieved from https://aquila.usm.edu/goms/vol28/iss1/8

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History of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies at TexasA&M University–Corpus Christi

JOHN W. TUNNELL, JR.

On 19 Sep. 2000, Mr. Edward H. Hartedonated $46 million to establish a new

research institute at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) to focus on the Gulfof Mexico. Mr. Harte, philanthropist and formerowner of Harte-Hanks, Inc., and the CorpusChristi Caller-Times newspaper, worked with Dr.Robert R. Furgason, then president of TAMU-CC, to establish the endowment to includeendowed research chairs, endowed graduateresearch fellowships, and an endowed operatingbudget. Subsequently, during the fall of 2000,the Harte Research Support Foundation wasestablished to manage the assets of the instituteuntil it becomes fully operational. The Founda-tion had three trustees, Mr. Ed Harte, Mr.Jonathan M. Hornblower, and Mr. David L.Sinak. In the spring of 2001, during the Texaslegislative session, Dr. Furgason was able toobtain $15 million from the State of Texas tobuild a facility for the Harte Research Institute(HRI) on the TAMU-CC campus. An additional$3 million was added to that amount from otherState building funds to allow for the additionalconstruction of four graduate instruction andresearch laboratories. These labs, along witheight offices, allow collaboration between Harteresearch scientists and faculty and students,primarily within the College of Science andTechnology, but also with other colleges atTAMU-CC. Other well-established entities atTAMU-CC that will collaborate with HRI includethe Center for Coastal Studies, the Center forWater Supply Studies, the Conrad BlucherInstitute for Surveying and Science, the Geo-graphic Information Science (GIS) researchprogram, and the Texas Coastal Ocean Observa-tion Network (Tunnell and Earle, 2004).

Mr. Ed Harte, who had been Chairman of theBoard for the National Audubon Society duringthe 1970s and again in the early 1990s, wasinspired by the book Sea Change (Earle, 1995) indeciding to endow and establish the researchinstitute. After meetings and discussions betweenMr. Harte, Dr. Furgason, and Dr. Sylvia A. Earle,Dr. Earle agreed to become program coordinatorand chairman of the advisory council for the newinstitute during the summer of 2001. During thatsummer and the following several years, a highlydistinguished advisory council of 30 members wasestablished. Members represent academia, indus-

try, and conservation, as well as all three countriessurrounding the Gulf of Mexico: the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Cuba (Table 1). I wasappointed Associate Director in September2001, and that fall the new institute was officiallynamed the Harte Research Institute for Gulf ofMexico Studies (Tunnell and Earle, 2004).

TAMU-CC AND MARINE SCIENCE

TAMU-CC became a part of the Texas A&MUniversity System in 1989, but its founding as auniversity was in 1947 when the University ofCorpus Christi (UCC), a small Baptist university,was formed on Ward Island immediately afterWorld War II and the closing of the U.S. Navy’sWard Island Radar Training Station. In 1957, thefledging university started its marine scienceprogram under the direction of Dr. Henry H.Hildebrand. After the campus was almost com-pletely destroyed in 1970 by Hurricane Celia, theuniversity was transferred from the Baptist Gener-al Convention to state ownership in the UniversitySystem of South Texas. Continuing as a small,primarily teaching institution in the 1970s, grad-uate degrees and research began to slowly takehold in the 1980s, especially with the formation ofthe Center for Coastal Studies and the ConradBlucher Institute for Surveying and Science.

Unfettered by the typical long-standing aca-demic traditions and with an entrepreneurialspirit, TAMU-CC began inviting state and federalnatural resource agencies to its campus to be co-located with the academic programs. The greatsynergism developed by this model of operation,as well as the efficiency and effectiveness of theacademic–government partnership, led the stateof Texas to build a facility to house the stateagencies and academic research centers togetheron campus. Presently, seven state agencies, threeuniversity research centers, and several A&MSystem components are housed in this State ofTexas Natural Resources Center building. This$10 million, 100,000–square foot building wascompleted and occupied in 1996. Funding for afederal Natural Resources Center is currentlybeing sought (Tunnell and Earle, 2004). (Seearticle on the Center for Coastal Studies at TexasA&M University–Corpus Christi by John W.Tunnell, Jr., in this Special Issue for a fullerdescription of this concept and program.)

Gulf of Mexico Science, 2010(1–2), pp. 56–70

E 2010 by the Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium of Alabama

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Tunnell: History of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studie

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Academic degree programs focused on marinescience, mainly marine biology/ecology at theB.S. level in the early years with Dr. Hildebrandat UCC and at Texas A&I University at CorpusChristi (the new University’s name from 1973 to1977). In 1975, a new M.S. degree with a marineemphasis was offered. Other marine-orienteddegrees were added as the university expandedand developed: Mariculture M.S. (1988); Envi-ronmental Science B.S. and M.S., with potentialmarine emphasis (1992); Ph.D. in Coastal andMarine System Science (2005); and Ph.D. inMarine Biology (2008). The latter degree isacquired in collaboration with two other TAMUcampuses: Texas A&M University, College Sta-tion, and Texas A&M University at Galveston.The university changed names to Corpus ChristiState University in 1977 and then becameTAMU-CC in 1993.

INSTITUTE DEVELOPMENT

The HRI Advisory Council held two to threemeetings per year during the 2001–05 period,the primary planning years (Table 2). TheDecember 2001 Advisory Council meeting in-cluded a planning workshop with researchscientists from the United States, Mexico, andCuba (Fig. 1). This workshop proved to bepivotal, producing influential and substantialresearch and focus for the HRI Advisory Council.Highlights of the proceedings (Tunnell, 2002)are shown in Table 3. Information from alladvisory council meetings, as well as datagathered from other leading marine/oceano-graphic laboratories, institutes, and universities,have assisted in developing the vision andmission statement as well as the goals andobjectives of the HRI (Tunnell and Earle, 2004).

TABLE 1. Advisory Council Members for Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies representing theUnited States, Mexico, and Cuba.

Name Affiliation

Dr. Sylvia A. Earle, Chair Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic SocietyDr. Homero Aridjis Journalist, Mexico CityMs. Katherine Armstrong Rancher, ConsultantMr. William B. Baker Environmental Manager, Reliant EnergyMr. William Bradford Former CEO, Dresser/HaliburtonMr. Eugenio Clariond Reyes Chief Executive Officer, Grupo IMSAMs. Catherine Nixon Cooke Consultant, AuthorMr. Luke Corbett Former CEO, Kerr McGeeMr. Jean Michel Cousteau Ocean Futures SocietyMr. Joseph Fitzsimons Commissioner, Texas Parks and Wildlife DepartmentMr. John Flicker President, National Audubon SocietyDr. Robert R. Furgason Former President, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi; Executive

Director, HRIMr. Terry D. Garcia Executive Vice President, National Geographic SocietyMr. Bryon Griffith Director, EPA Gulf of Mexico ProgramDr. David E. Guggenheim Ocean Science and Policy ConsultantDr. Eric W. Gustafson President, U.S. Mexico Chamber of CommerceMr. William Harte Harte FamilyMr. Timothy Keeny National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationMr. C. Ray Hayes Vice Chancellor, University of Alabama SystemSr. Alejandro Junco de la Vega Publisher, MonterreyDr. Bjorn Kjerve Dean, College of Geosciences, Texas A&M UniversityDr. Kumar Mahadevan Executive Director, Mote Marine LabSr. Guillermo Garcia Montero Director, National Aquarium of CubaMr. Patrick F. Noonan Former Chairman, The Conservation FundDr. John Ogden Director, Florida Institute of OceanographyMr. Raul Rodriquez Chairman, World Affairs CouncilMr. Andrew Sansom Executive Director, International Institute for Sustainable Water ResourcesDr. Alberto Vazquez de la Cerda Admiral, Instituto Oceanografico, Secretaria de Marina, MexicoDr. Don Walsh Oceanographer and Trieste Pilot

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Gulf of Mexico Science, Vol. 28 [2010], No. 1, Art. 8

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VISION AND MISSION STATEMENT

It is the vision of the HRI for Gulf of MexicoStudies to be a research center of excellenceproviding international leadership in generatingand disseminating knowledge about the Gulf ofMexico ecosystem and its critical role in theeconomies of the North American region (Tun-nell and Earle, 2004).

The mission of the HRI, an endowed researchcomponent of TAMU-CC, is to support andadvance the long-term sustainable use andconservation of the Gulf of Mexico. This missionwill be accomplished through the followingactivities:

N Providing an environment in which to con-duct meaningful and successful programs inresearch and education with highly qualifiedfaculty, staff, and students;

N Promoting excellence and innovation ininterdisciplinary scientific research, publicpolicy initiatives, and education of the publicconcerning the Gulf of Mexico;

N Encouraging a tri-national responsibility andapproach to understanding the Gulf ofMexico ecosystem, involving the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Cuba;

N Collaborating and cooperating with otherorganizations that are dedicated to addressingissues related to the Gulf of Mexico, in orderto achieve common goals; and

N Disseminating research results freely to thescientific community, management agencies,the general public, and policy-makers, in

order to foster the wise and appropriate useof the Gulf of Mexico.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goals and objectives of the HRI are asfollows:

N To become a leading research institute and toremain committed to high-quality, innovativeresearch on the Gulf of Mexico;

N To lead in synthesizing, integrating, andcommunicating Gulf of Mexico research;

N To monitor and periodically publicize the‘‘State of the Gulf’’ to uncover gaps in

Fig. 1. Location of invited institutions/marine labsfor Planning Workshop for Harte Research Institutefor Gulf of Mexico Studies held at TAMU-CC, 12–13Dec. 2001 (Image modified from GulfBase).

TABLE 2. HRI Advisory Council meeting locationand dates.

Location Date

Corpus Christi, TX Oct. 2001Corpus Christi, TX Dec. 2001Houston, TX Feb. 2002Havana, Cuba April 2002Veracruz, Mexico Oct. 2002Corpus Christi, TX Jan. 2003Washington, DC April 2003Corpus Christi, TX Oct. 2003Sarasota, FL Feb. 2004New Orleans, LA (Stennis Space

Center, MS) Oct. 2004Monterrey, Mexico March 2005Corpus Christi, TX Nov. 2005Corpus Christi, TX (SUMMIT) March 2006Austin, TX June 2006Washington, DC Oct. 2006New York, NY June 2007

TABLE 3. Principle suggestions/recommendations forthe new Harte Research Institute from the HRI Gulf of

Mexico Planning Workshop (Tunnell, 2002).

1. Encourage a tri-national responsibility andapproach to understanding and managing the Gulfof Mexico (United States, Mexico, Cuba)

2. Cooperation and collaboration with varied Gulf ofMexico partners

3. Generate and disseminate knowledge widely, inboth languages when appropriate, to scientists andthe public

4. Hold regular conferences relating to the ‘‘state’’ ofthe Gulf of Mexico

5. Collate, integrate, and synthesize Gulf of Mexicoscience

6. Consider making policy a part of HRI7. Develop a Gulf of Mexico (bilingual) website8. Develop ecosystem models (both conceptual and

dynamic)9. Consider conservation biology and biodiversity as

research focus10. Consider all stakeholders

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existing knowledge, and to create initiatives tofill those gaps;

N To cooperate with state and federal resourcemanagement agencies by providing scientifi-cally based knowledge for sound policy andmanagement of the Gulf of Mexico andsurrounding region;

N To establish partnerships and alliances witheducational, governmental, nongovernmen-tal, and private sector organizations interest-ed in long-term sustainable use and conser-vation of the Gulf of Mexico;

N To develop strong public education andpublic policy programs, using a broad diver-sity of approaches, including:

N A bilingual Gulf of Mexico website of researchinstitutes, research personnel, research pro-jects, and other information about the Gulf ofMexico;

N A regular Gulf of Mexico Symposium; andN Workshops on Gulf of Mexico issues, both

scientific and policy, as needed at the HRIbuilding at TAMU-CC;

N To develop a Gulf-wide GIS;N To foster tri-national cooperation and collab-

oration in science and management of theGulf of Mexico;

N To study the conservation biology and biodi-versity of the Gulf of Mexico;

N To be a leader in exploration of the Gulf ofMexico; and

N To study the Gulf of Mexico as a large marineecosystem, influenced by the Caribbean Seaand surrounding watersheds, requiring mon-itoring, modeling, and management.

HRI BUILDING

The HRI building was designed by RichterArchitects of Corpus Christi and WHR (Wat-kins, Hamilton, Ross) Architects of Houstonduring 2002. The three-story, 57,000–squarefoot building with seven wet labs, two dry labs,two seawater labs, a GIS lab/suite, an educa-tion/outreach suite, a large conference room,and many associated offices, is built on thenorthwest side of the TAMU-CC campus onWard Island, which is located on the south sideof Corpus Christi Bay in Nueces County, TX(Fig. 2). Construction began in spring 2003,and the building was occupied in November2005. The mission-oriented design of the newHRI facility was featured in Texas Architectmagazine (Fig. 3) (Sharpe, 2007). Furtherinformation on the HRI building and Institutedevelopment can be found in feature articles ofTexas Coastal Enthusiast (Williams, 2004) andTexas Shores (Hiney, 2005).

EARLY HRI INITIATIVE

Rather than wait until the endowed chairswere filled and the new building occupied, wedecided to launch an initiative that wouldjump-start our plans of working togetheraround the Gulf of Mexico. We called thenew initiative, starting in 2002, ‘‘The Gulf ofMexico—Past, Present, and Future,’’ and itstheme was to focus on our mission of long-termsustainable use and conservation of the Gulf ofMexico (Tunnell et al., 2004). Components ofthis multiyear, tri-national initiative, involving

Fig. 2. Aerial view to northwest over TAMU-CC’s Ward Island campus showing the location of HRI, with theCity of Corpus Christi in the background, Oso Bay in the Foreground, and Corpus Christi Bay to the right (Photocourtesy of TAMU-CC).


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Fig. 3. Views of the new HRI building at TAMU-CC (Photos by Joe Aker). This view to northwest of backside.

Fig. 3. Continued. View of lobby towards conference center.


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Fig. 3. Continued. Front view of building facing Corpus Christi Bay with conference center at right.

Fig. 3. Continued. View within conference center.


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the United States, Mexico, and Cuba, includethe following:

1. Design and maintenance of a Gulf-wideinternet-accessible research database on theGulf of Mexico;

2. Collaboration with other institutions andorganizations to co-sponsor annual explor-atory expeditions to the Gulf of Mexico;

3. Sponsorship of a ‘‘State of KnowledgeWorkshop,’’ including leading scientists,managers, and conservationists fromaround the Gulf of Mexico in October2003;

4. Preparation of an inventory of the biodiver-sity of the Gulf of Mexico by creating achecklist of all species, including habitat,distribution, and key references for eachspecies;

5. Preparation of a 50-yr update of ‘‘Bulletin89,’’ Gulf of Mexico: Its Origin, Waters, andMarine Life;

6. Sponsorship of a ‘‘State of the Gulf ofMexico Summit’’ in March 2006, involvingall users;

7. Sponsorship of an annual thematic confer-ence at HRI on timely topics of need orinterest;

8. Establishment of a Gulf of Mexico Allianceof all stakeholders; and

9. Utilization of all of the above to developpublic policy initiatives that will positivelyaffect the ‘‘state’’ of the Gulf of Mexico.

HRI worked Gulf-wide to be as inclusive aspossible, in cooperation and collaboration withother institutions, to accomplish the initiative’sobjectives. All of the above items are nowaccomplished or operational. Details about eachitem or activity are listed below.

1. Research database.—The HRI database website,GulfBase at www.gulfbase.org, opened in October2002. At present, GulfBase is a searchable andsortable website for all Gulf of Mexico researchers(over 1,600) and research institutes (over 450). Itincludes ever-increasing amounts of informationon bays and lagoons (95+), reefs and islands(122+), and events (,195). GulfBase won firstplace in the Environmental Protection AgencyGulf of Mexico Program’s Gulf Guardian Awardin 2006 in the new ‘‘Bi-National’’ category.

2. Exploratory expeditions.—Annual (or regular)collaborative exploratory cruises to variousparts of the Gulf of Mexico will become ahallmark of HRI. The first HRI co-sponsoredexploratory expedition went to the coral reefsof Veracruz, Mexico, in 2002. This cruise,

which used the Mexican navy’s oceanographicvessel, the R/V Antares (Fig. 4), was a collab-orative effort between HRI, the NationalGeographic Society’s Sustainable Seas Program(Fig. 5), and the Mexican navy’s Institute ofOceanography. During the cruise, HRI scien-tists and students recorded mass spawning ofcorals (Fig. 6) for the first time on theVeracruz reefs (Beaver et al., 2004). Subse-quent expeditions went to Cuba (2003, 2004,2006, and 2009), Pulley Ridge (2005), Sevenand One-half Fathom Reef (2006), and SouthTexas Banks (2009).

3. State of Knowledge Workshop.—The State ofKnowledge of the Gulf of Mexico Workshop washeld during 14–15 Oct. 2003 in Corpus Christi.Our new HRI research database website, Gulf-Base at www.gulfbase.org, was used to encouragecooperation and collaboration among workers inthe Gulf boundary countries of Cuba, Mexico,and the United States.

The purpose of this workshop was to initiate aplan to determine the state of knowledge of theGulf of Mexico. Leading marine scientists fromall three countries were to determine the processand mechanism of synthesis and determinationof knowledge from a holistic viewpoint of theentire Gulf. It had been almost 50 yr since asingle volume, Gulf of Mexico: Its Origin, Waters,and Marine Life, Fishery Bulletin 89 (Galtsoff,1954), synthesized what was known at that timeabout the Gulf of Mexico. Over 50 scientistscontributed articles on the history, geology,meteorology, physical and chemical oceanogra-phy, biota, and pollution of the Gulf. Althoughcoverage on each topic varied greatly in depthand length, and although the volume’s focus wasmainly the northern Gulf of Mexico, Bulletin 89continued to be a strong reference for Gulf ofMexico researchers for several decades. Most ofthe knowledge gained and presented in Bulletin89 was from research cruises and expeditions tothe Gulf during the late 19th and early 20thcenturies and from a few fledging marine sciencelabs and oceanography programs started in thelate 1940s and early 1950s.

At the dawning of a new century, researchersat marine labs and universities encircled theentire Gulf in Cuba, Mexico, and the UnitedStates; instrumentation, technology, and com-munication have greatly expanded our knowl-edge of the Gulf. A network of United Nations’organizations designated the Gulf of Mexico asone of 64 ‘‘Large Marine Ecosystems’’ in theworld (Kumpf et al., 1999).

HRI facilitated the State of Knowledge programto begin establishing our current state of knowl-


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edge for the entire Gulf of Mexico. The workshopof leading scientists from all three nationsinitiated the formal organization and suggestedthe preparation of a new digest of information onthe Gulf of Mexico (see item 5 below).

4. Biodiversity project.—A peer-reviewed inventoryof the biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico wasinitiated and developed to determine the totalnumber and kinds of species living in the Gulf ofMexico (Tunnell, 2005). A checklist was createdthat included habitat, distribution, range, depth,and key references for each species. Released inJuly 2009, the Biodiversity volume (Felder andCamp, 2009) includes 79 chapters by 140 authors(from 80 institutions in 15 different countries),listing approximately 15,419 species. The bookwas published by Texas A&M University Press aspart of the Harte Research Institute for Gulf ofMexico Studies book series at TAMU-CC. PhaseII of this massive project will be the conversion ofthe book into digital format for placement onthe World Wide Web in GulfBase and the OceanBiogeographic Information System of the Censusof Marine Life. Phase III will involve dataanalysis, and Phase IV will involve explorationto fill data gaps.

5. ‘‘Bulletin 89’’ 50-yr update.—Along with theBiodiversity Project just discussed, preparing a50-yr update of the Gulf of Mexico: Its Origins,Waters, and Marine Life (Galtsoff, 1954) is themost significant scientific, early endeavor of HRI.The new version will be an expansion from thesingle original volume to at least seven volumes.

Background: Just over 50 yr ago, a group ofprominent marine scientists agreed to work on adigest of existing knowledge on the Gulf ofMexico. The effort was proposed by Lionel A.Walford of the Fish and Wildlife Service andWaldo L. Schmitt of the U.S. National Museumduring a meeting of the Gulf and CaribbeanFisheries Institute in Miami. Paul S. Galtsoff ofthe Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to coordi-nate the project, the magnitude of which hesubsequently found to far exceed his expecta-tions. However, 3 yr of effort by 55 contributorsand many months of editing resulted in the 1954publication of a classic reference work entitledGulf of Mexico: Its Origin, Waters, and Marine Life(as Fishery Bulletin 89, Fishery Bulletin of theFish and Wildlife Service, Volume 55; Galtsoff,1954). The title page of this work notes that itwas ‘‘Prepared by American scientists under thesponsorship of the Fish and Wildlife Service,

Fig. 4. Mexican Navy’s Oceanographic ship, the R/V Antares, at anchor east of Anedegada de Afuera coralreef, southern Veracruz, Mexico, September 2002, during Sustainable Seas Expedition in cooperation with theNational Geographic Society and HRI (Photograph by Kip EvansE, National Geographic Society).


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Fig. 5. Sustainable Seas Expedition submersibles used to study coral reefs of Veracruz during August–September 2002: (a) Deep Worker and (b) Deep Rover (Photograph by Kip EvansE, National Geographic Society).


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United States Department of the Interior’’ andthat effort was ‘‘Coordinated by Paul S. Galts-off.’’ Galtsoff is generally indicated as the editorin bibliographic references to this work (Tunnellet al., 2004). This reference volume, commonlyalluded to simply as ‘‘Bulletin 89’’ by the hosts ofmarine scientists, agency personnel, and stu-dents who are familiar with it, has for 50 yrprovided a benchmark on which to build.Treatments on the history of exploration, geol-ogy, meteorology, physical and chemical ocean-

ography, biota, and human impacts remainextremely valuable as reference works, somenow primarily for historical context. Countedamong the contributors were the most distin-guished American marine scientists of their day,and visibility for a number of these scientists wasfurther enhanced by the extensively cited chap-ters they contributed to this volume. The groupincluded the most qualified federal agencyscientists, museum curators, marine laboratoryinvestigators, and university professors that could

Fig. 6. Coral mass spawning on leeward side of Santiaguillo Reef, 10 m, 29 Aug. 2002, discovered and reportedfor the first time during HRI cruise (Photograph by Kip EvansE, National Geographic Society).


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be assembled. It broadly represented taxonomicauthorities selected to cover almost every possi-ble biotic group, with acknowledged omission ofsome groups for which willing expertise couldnot be found (Tunnell et al., 2004, 2009).

The plan: While the challenge is daunting, anupdate of ‘‘Bulletin 89’’ is overdue. As the 50thanniversary of its publication passed, the rangeand scope of primary literature sources on theGulf of Mexico have become so expansive thatthey are all but unmanageable for most workers.For almost all subject areas, no authoritativedigests centered on the Gulf of Mexico haveappeared since ‘‘Bulletin 89.’’ Yet, many treat-ments in ‘‘Bulletin 89’’ are clearly so dated thatthey are of limited value other than as historicalstarting points. Furthermore, there is an urgentneed for updates before the marine sciencecommunity sustains further loss of continuity inexpertise; while we have already lost all of theoriginal contributors to ‘‘Bulletin 89,’’ thepassage of 50 yr has also claimed a largenumber of the subsequent generation of work-ers, and others are already late in their careers.Therefore, in 2003 we proposed the expansionfrom one ‘‘Bulletin 89’’ volume to four (origins,oceanography, biota, and issue/impacts) (Tun-nell et al., 2004). Subsequently, two morevolumes were added (ecosystem-based manage-ment and economics), and oceanography wassplit in two: physical and chemical oceanogra-phy. The first two volumes [Biodiversity (Felderand Camp, 2009) and Economics (Cato, 2009)]were released in 2009, and they should serve asa benchmark reference source of knowledgeabout the Gulf of Mexico early in the 21stcentury.

6. State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit.—In March2006, the State of the Gulf of Mexico Summitaddressed the current ‘‘state’’ (condition orhealth) of the Gulf of Mexico. There wassignificant participation from around the Gulf,and major topics/panels included the economy,public health, the environment, and collabora-tive governance (Tunnell and Dokken, 2006).These meetings will likely continue at 3- to 5-yrintervals in the future, at various locationsaround the Gulf.

7. Annual Thematic Working Conferences.—HRI willannually sponsor small working conferences orworkshops with leading scientists concerningimportant, current issues affecting the Gulf ofMexico (e.g., invasive species, harmful algalblooms, coastal development, dead zones, etc.).These conferences will be held in the new HRIConference Center or at a larger venue, if

necessary, in Corpus Christi. The first two wereheld in 2007: The Gulf of Mexico and CaribbeanMarine Invasive Species Workshop in February(Osman and Shirley, 2007) and the 2007 Law ofthe Sea Institute Conference in March. Manyothers have been held since then, most recently,the highly successful and well-attended Interna-tional Conference on Sea Level Rise in the Gulfof Mexico in March 2009.

8. Gulf of Mexico Alliance.—Patterned after thehighly successful Florida Ocean Alliance, wedetermined that such an alliance of all stake-holders or entities with concern, interest, use, orjurisdiction within the Gulf of Mexico should beformed. This alliance would include all threecountries, and it would include members fromprivate business (fisheries, tourism, oil, gas, etc.),state and federal government agencies, acade-mia, conservation and other nongovernmentalgroups, and private citizens. The alliance wouldwork cooperatively and collectively for the long-term sustainable use and conservation of theGulf of Mexico.

After the release of the President’s U.S. OceanAction Plan in December 2004 (Committee onOcean Policy, 2004), then–Florida governor JebBush suggested the formation of such an allianceamong the U.S. states (Florida, Alabama, Mis-sissippi, Louisiana, and Texas). Working togeth-er, these five states issued the ‘‘Governor’sAction Plan for Healthy and Resilient Coasts’’in March 2006 at the State of the Gulf of MexicoSummit (Gulf of Mexico Alliance, 2006). Thatgroup is now working with some groups inMexico to make it more inclusive, Gulf-wide.

9. Public policy initiatives.—As HRI develops andgrows, it intends to be a leader in encouragingand achieving cooperation with multiple part-ners in influencing public policy for the long-term sustainable use and conservation of theGulf of Mexico.

RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Significant deliberations and discussions dur-ing the 2001–04 period focused on which sixresearch areas would be appropriate for the newInstitute. A combination of principles guidedthis process:

N Consider Gulf-wide needs or issues within theGulf of Mexico;

N Be cooperative and collaborative, not com-petitive, with nearby institutions;

N Include a tri-national approach;


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N Consider stated or implied topics or issueswithin the U.S. Commission on Ocean PolicyReport and/or the President’s U.S. OceanAction Plan;

N Determine ‘‘fit’’ with TAMU-CC academicprograms or future programs; and

N Develop science or policy with applicationthat could ‘‘make a difference’’ (Ed Harte’srequest).

Initially, Mr. Harte and the Advisory Councilagreed on establishing one chair in policy andone in GIS. GIS would be the foundation forimaging and analysis of all the programs withinHRI, and it was already a strong research andacademic program at TAMU-CC. The final fourchairs, determined using the above principles,rounded out the list of six endowed chairresearch programs or focus areas, as follows:

1. Coastal and Marine Policy and Law;2. GIS;3. Marine Biodiversity and Conservation Sci-

ence;4. Ecosystem Studies and Modeling;5. Ocean and Human Health; and6. Socioeconomics.

With building completion slated for 2005, webegan hiring that summer. Dr. RichardMcLaughlin became the first hire in June 2005as the Endowed Chair of Coastal and MarinePolicy and Law. Dr. McLaughlin’s researchfocuses on coastal and marine policy and lawissues related to the Gulf of Mexico. He isparticularly interested in policy and law relatedto energy, the Western Gap, and Law of the Sea.Dr. McLaughlin came to HRI from the Universityof Mississippi School of Law, where he was aProfessor, former Director of the Mississippi–Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program, Director ofthe Hawaii Summer Law Program, and a formerFulbright Scholar to Japan.

Dr. Tom Shirley became HRI’s second En-dowed Chair in the area of Marine Biodiversityand Conservation Science in July 2005. Hisspecialty in invertebrate zoology around theworld serves him well in joining and leadingHRI’s biodiversity of the Gulf of Mexico pro-gram. With his extensive experience with re-search vessels and manned submersibles, he willalso be active in HRI’s exploration program. Dr.Shirley came to HRI from the University ofAlaska, where he had a strong and productiveresearch and graduate education program.

Dr. Paul Montagna started in September 2006 asHRI’s third Endowed Chair; he leads the researchprogram in Ecosystem Studies and Modeling. Dr.Montagna and his highly active staff use quantita-

tive ecology as their main research tool. They uselong-term data sets on benthos and water qualityto study and model coastal processes, such asfreshwater inflow, which are, in turn, used to helpguide resource management decisions. Dr. Mon-tagna came to HRI from the University of TexasMarine Science Institute.

After the first three senior-level, endowedchairs were hired, HRI leadership decided tolook for younger scientists who had a proventrack record in research and a bright, promisingfuture. Two were hired in 2007 at the ‘‘EndowedAssociate Research Professor’’ level, and one in2008. They are being given the opportunity to‘‘grow’’ into an endowed chair position.

Drs. Jim Gibeaut and Greg Stunz becameEndowed Associate Research Professors in Sep-tember 2007 in the areas of GIS and Ocean andHuman Health, respectively. Dr. Gibeaut’s re-search focuses on coastal processes, applicationof LIDAR and remote sensing imagery to coastalmapping, statistical analysis and mathematicalmodeling of beach and tidal inlet morphody-namics, coastal oil-spill damage and cleanupassessment, and high-accuracy beach and near-shore surveying. Dr. Gibeaut is currently studyingcoastal environmental change through analysisof historical data sets and the development ofmodels to project the future effects of sea-levelrise. He came to HRI from the Bureau ofEconomic Geology at the University of Texas inAustin. Dr. Stunz, who is also Associate Professorof Marine Biology at TAMU-CC, is a marinebiologist specializing in marine ecology. Specif-ically, his research interests focus on understand-ing ecosystem health and the role of habitat foraquatic organisms, emphasizing marine andestuarine fishes.

Dr. David Yoskowitz was hired as HRI’sEndowed Research Associate Professor for So-cio-Economics in September 2008, while he hada joint appointment as Professor of Economics inthe College of Business at TAMU-CC. In 2010,Dr. Yoskowitz became our HRI Endowed Chairfor Socio-Economics. He brings the economicperspective to issues that impact the Gulf ofMexico region. His work helps to model thesocio-economic implications of resource use, andhe is particularly interested in research onecosystem services and the productive value ofthe Gulf of Mexico.

Although my research career and program arewinding down, as I spend more and more time inresearch administration, I will maintain aninterest and focus on Gulf-wide synthesis projects(such as the Bulletin 89 update), Gulf biodiver-sity, and facilitating research in Cuba andMexico. HRI Advisory Council member Dr.


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Fig. 7. Views of Cuban professors and students conducting research and conservation work in Cuba: (a) Bocadel Toro, characterizing the northwest coast of Cuba coral reefs, seagrasses, and mangroves, and (b) working withsea turtle populations and local communities in the Guanahacabibes National Park in far western Cuba (Photoscourtesy of David Guggenheim).


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David Guggenheim, along with Fernando Bretos,led our HRI efforts in Cuba for several years.This work includes a characterization of Cuba’sGulf of Mexico coastline (the northwest coast),primarily coral reefs, seagrass beds and man-groves, and sea turtle conservation (Fig. 7). Mostof their work is conducted in cooperation andcollaboration with faculty and students at theCentro de Investigaciones Marinas (Center forMarine Research) at the University of Havana.

In addition to these endowed faculty, HRI hasa research associate program, which involvesfaculty research associates from various depart-ments and colleges at TAMU-CC that haveresearch programs involving the Gulf of Mexico.Ten of these faculty associates have office and labspace in the new HRI building. This co-locationpromotes cooperation and collaboration amongHRI endowed faculty and TAMU-CC faculty.

BEHIND THE HRI LOGO

The logo incorporates the idea of lookingtoward the horizon (Fig. 8). Silhouettes of threesails stand for the cooperation among the UnitedStates, Mexico, and Cuba. Influenced by the sailson sailing vessels originally used to explore theoceans of the world, the use of these particularsails implies that the Institute will be a pioneer inexploration. The sails filling with the windsymbolize moving forward into the future. Thewave at the bottom represents the Gulf, while thecircle symbolizes the rising sun, emphasizing thedawn of a new era for the University.

The design was inspired by the travels ofSpanish explorer Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca,whose trail of discovery followed the Gulf Coast.The logo was designed by TAMU-CC employeeJanice Tyler.

HRI’s FUTURE

Dr. Robert Furgason became the first execu-tive director of HRI in January 2005, when hestepped down from his role as president ofTAMU-CC for 14 yr. HRI was endowed andestablished under his leadership. Dr. LarryMcKinney became the second executive directorof HRI in July 2008. Although it may take severalmore years for HRI to be fully operational, thefuture is indeed bright for cooperative andcollaborative work around the Gulf of Mexicothat will support and enhance its long-termsustainable use and conservation. Further infor-mation and current news about HRI can befound at www.harteresearchinstitute.org.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I am very appreciative of assistance provided byAllison Knight in the preparation of this article.

LITERATURE CITED

BEAVER, C. R., S. A. EARLE, J. W. TUNNELL JR., E. F. EVANS,AND A. V. DE LA CERDA. 2004. Mass spawning of reefcorals within the Veracruz reef system, Veracruz,Mexico. Coral Reefs 23:324.

CATO, J. C. (ED.). 2009. Gulf of Mexico origin, watersand biota: volume 2: ocean and coastal economy.Texas A&M Univ. Press, College Station, TX.

COMMITTEE ON OCEAN POLICY. 2004. U.S. Ocean ActionPlan. Committee on Ocean Policy, The WhiteHouse, Washington, DC.

EARLE, S. A. 1995. Sea change. Putnam, New York.FELDER, D. L., AND D. K. CAMP (EDS.). 2009. Gulf of

Mexico origin, waters and biota: volume 1: biodiver-sity. Texas A&M Univ. Press, College Station, TX.

GALTSOFF, P. S. (ED.). 1954. Gulf of Mexico: its origin,waters, and marine life. Fishery Bulletin 89, FisheryBulletin of the Fish and Wildlife Service, Vol. 55. U.S.Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.

GULF OF MEXICO ALLIANCE. 2006. Governor’s action planfor healthy and resilient coasts. Gulf of MexicoAlliance. Available at: http://www.gulfofmexicoalli-ance.org.

HINEY, J. 2005. Make a difference. Tex. Shores 38:2–21.KUMPF, H., K. STEIDINGER, AND K. SHERMAN (EDS.). 1999.

The Gulf of Mexico large marine ecosystem. Black-well Science, Malden, MA.

OSMAN, R., AND T. SHIRLEY (EDS.). 2007. Proceedings andFinal Report of the Gulf of Mexico and CaribbeanMarine Invasive Species Workshop. Harte ResearchInstitute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&MUniversity–Corpus Christi, 26–27 Feb. 2007. HarteResearch Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies andSmithsonian Environmental Research Center. Cor-pus Christi, TX.

SHARPE, S. 2007. Mission expressed. Texas Architect57(2):38–42.

TUNNELL, J. W., JR. 2002. Proceedings of the HarteResearch Institute Gulf of Mexico Planning Work-

Fig. 8. Logo for the HRI for Gulf of Mexico Studieswas designed in 2001 by TAMU-CC employee JaniceTyler.


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shop, 12–13 Dec. 2001. Harte Research Institute,Texas A&M Univ.–Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi,TX.

———. 2005. Biodiversity of the Gulf of MexicoProject, p. 285–286. In: P. Miloslavich and E. Klein(eds.). Caribbean marine biodiversity: the knownand unknown. DEStech Publications, Inc., Lancaster,PA.

———, AND Q. R. DOKKEN (EDS.). 2006. Proceedings ofthe State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit. CorpusChristi, Texas, 28–30 March 2006. Harte ResearchInstitute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, Texas A&MUniv.–Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, TX.

———, AND S. A. EARLE. 2004. Harte Research Institutefor Gulf of Mexico Studies: initiatives in marinescience research, p. 132–141. In: R. L. Creswell (ed.).Proceedings of the 55th Annual Gulf and CaribbeanFisheries Institute, Xel-Ha, Quintana Roo, Mexico,November 2002.

———, D. L. FELDER, AND S. A. EARLE. 2004. El Golfo deMexico: posado, presente, futuro. Una colaboracion

entre Estados Unidos de America, Mexico, y Cuba,p. 361––371. In: M. Caso, I. Pisanty, and E. Ezcurra(eds.). Diagnostico ambiental del Golfo de Mexico.Volume 1. Instituto Nacional de Ecologıa (INE-SEMARNAT), Mexico, D.F.

———, ———, AND ———. 2009. Foreword: 50-yearupdate of bulletin 89. p. xv–xix. In: D. L. Felder andD. K. Camp (eds.). Gulf of Mexico origin, waters andbiota: volume 1, biodiversity. Texas A&M Univ. Press,College Station, TX.

WILLIAMS, S. 2004. To study & protect: Harte ResearchInstitute established in defense of a fragile Gulf environ-ment. Texas Coastal Enthusiast, Summer. 56–59.

HARTE RESEARCH INSTITUTE FOR GULF OF MEXICO

STUDIES, TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY–CORPUS CHRISTI,6300 OCEAN DRIVE, CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS

78412.


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history of the harte research institute for gulf of mexico

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