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The University of Rhode Island's oceanography program began as the Narragansett Marine Lab, founded by Charles Fish, in 1936. It was renamed the Fish Oceanographic Lab in 1960, and then established as the Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) in 1961. With the legislative aid of Senator Claiborne Pell, the School achieved Sea Grant College status in 1971 under the direction of Dean John A. Knauss. In 1989, the school was renamed the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Center of Excellence. It ranked fifth in its Ph.D. program among oceanographic schools in the U.S.
Dr. Margaret Leinen, who was the third Dean of the GSO, initiated this project. She was prompted by the knowledge that the some of the original almuni were, by circumstance, present in the region and she thought it would be a good opportunity to capture an oral historical record of the early years at the GSO. Mrs. Leinen then contacted the Director of Marine Programs, Sarah Hickox, and asked her if she was interested in coordinating the project. Mrs. Hickox agreed and asked Walter Gray, the Director of the New England Marine Resources Information Program and the Marine Advisory Service from 1968-1989, to conduct the interviews.
Open for research.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
Graduate School of Oceanography Oral History Interviews, Rec. Gr. 138, University of Rhode Island Special Collections.
This collection consists of seven digital videocassettes that contain interviews with prominent former members and affiliates of the Graduate School of Oceanography. The interviews were conducted on July 15th, 16th and 23rd, 1999.The video production was performed by Tim Tierney, Assisstant Director of the Audio/Visual Production Service.
After processing, the tapes are arranged into a single series as follows:
Open for research.
The collection was transferred from Elenor Uhlinger, of the Pell Library, in July 2000.
The collection was previosly held by Elenor Uhlinger of the Pell Library.
The collection was processed by Mark Dionne in 2000.
Terms governing use and reproduction: Photocopying and scanning of materials is a fee based service available in the repository and is allowed at the discretion of the Archivist when in compliance to the Unit's policy on copyright and publication.
See also the records of the Graduate School of Oceanography, Rec. Gr. 80.
No materials were separated during processing.
The first digital videocassette contains an interview with Nelson Marshall, who was visiting from Oregon, on July 15th, 1999. Dr. Marshall began his career at the Fish Oceanographic Lab in 1959 as it was entering into its transitional phase to becoming the Graduate School of Oceanography under the Directorship of John Knauss in 1960. Dr. Marshall also published a historical book on oceanography entitled,
The next three videocassettes contain interviews Dr. John Knauss on July 15th and 16th 1999. Dr. Knauss was appointed the first Dean of the GSO in 1962. Knauss served as Provost for Marine Programs from 1969 to 1982. Knauss was instrumental in attaining Sea Grant College status for URI and served as the first president of the Sea Grant College Association. He was also the co-founder of the Law of the Sea Institute and Chairman of the U.S. State Department's Public Advisory Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere in 1981. Knauss was also a member of the Stratton Commission, which reported to President Nixon its findings on marine affairs. He served as chairman of the Coastal Zone Panel and helped construct the Coastal Zone Management Act .
The next two videocassettes contain interviews with Senator Claiborne Pell who helped start the GSO program and worked with Dean Knauss on the passage of National Sea Grant legislation.
The last videocassette contains an interview with Marilyn and Joe Monroe. Marilyn is the daughter of Charles Fish, who founded the oceanographic program in 1936. She and her husband were students in the program in the early 1950's.
The tapes are arranged by date of interview.