IGERT Story
URI professor receives mentoring award from Joint Ocean Commission Initiative
Description
The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative announces Dr. Peter August as the recipient of the 2011 Marc J. Hershman Excellence in Mentoring Award. Dr. August exemplifies the legacy of Professor Hershman by educating, training and inspiring students and young professionals to pursue careers in ocean and coastal science, policy and management. The Joint Initiative Leadership Council Co-Chairs, the Honorable William Ruckelshaus and the Honorable Norman Mineta, presented the award on July 18 at the Coastal Zone 2011 conference in Chicago, Illinois…
Dr. August is a Professor of Natural Resources in the Department of Natural Resources Science at the University of Rhode Island (URI). Until recently, Dr. August served as the director of the Coastal Institute at URI. As Director, he was responsible for developing programs and activities that assisted in the creation of solutions to environmental problems in coastal ecosystems. Dr. August was the Principal Investigator of the Coastal Institute Integrative Graduate Education Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, or CIIP. Dr. August’s mentoring was most evident through his leadership of CIIP, which attracted 25 Ph.D. students from oceanography, economics, business, biology and fisheries. CIIP provided an integrated, multidisciplinary Ph.D. curriculum to enrich the education of students who show potential for leadership in solving environmental problems in coastal ecosystems.
