HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

A NEW ERA AT HARBOR BRANCH: RESEARCH, FUNDRAISING AND LAND-USE PLANNING INITIATIVES GETTING UNDERWAY

FORT PIERCE -- Today, Harbor Branch announced completion of a new strategic plan designed to enhance the institution's capabilities to address pressing local, state and national needs in marine science, to expand its existing programs, and to ensure its long-term growth. The Harbor Branch board of directors recently approved the comprehensive plan, which has enabled the institution to move forward rapidly to implement outlined steps.

The new strategic plan calls for, among numerous other tasks, the development of a financially and environmentally sound plan for developing portions of Harbor Branch's 500+ acre campus through projects that will be compatible with the institution's overall mission to understand and conserve our oceans through exploration, research, and education, for the benefit of mankind.

"I've been saying for some time now that it's an exciting time to be involved in ocean science," said Harbor Branch President and CEO Shirley Pomponi, "but with the completion of this plan and the activities it is launching, we really are beginning a new era here at Harbor Branch that is going to be phenomenal."

Both scientists and managers at Harbor Branch worked diligently over the past year to develop the new strategic plan. Harbor Branch will continue to focus its efforts on the areas in which it is internationally recognized as an innovator and leader, including ocean exploration using submersibles and other tools, Indian River Lagoon and other estuarine research, drug discovery, aquaculture and ocean education. Rather than change those areas of interest, the plan is designed to expand and integrate Harbor Branch activities within those areas and create a long-term financial plan that will allow for significant growth.

Tasks called for in the new plan include:

- The development of new cross-cutting working groups comprising members from various Harbor Branch divisions to develop new programs focused on such topics as deep coral reefs and Indian River Lagoon research to better address current and emerging environmental issues.

- Implementation of a newly drafted fundraising program aimed at creating stronger links to the community and helping Harbor Branch diversify and strengthen its financial base.

- Improving communication with employees, the local community, and other interested parties to ensure that accurate, relevant, transparent information about Harbor Branch is always available.

- Creation of new plans to consolidate scientific facilities on the somewhat sprawling Harbor Branch campus to enable better collaboration among research groups, and to eliminate redundancy in equipment and other resources needed to carry out complementary research efforts.

- Pursuit of new income sources to enable expansion of research activities, including exploring development of excess Harbor Branch land not needed to support current activities or future growth.

Work toward these goals, including land use planning, is either underway or ready to begin. Harbor Branch has just signed an agreement with Jacoby Development, Inc. (JDI), to create potential land use plans for Harbor Branch property and to make recommendations on the options best suited to the institution's overall vision. The Jacoby group was chosen because of its long record of environmentally conscientious land-use planning at various locations in Florida, Georgia, Hawaii and elsewhere.

Over the next couple of months, JDI will be working with the institution as well as local and state planning agencies, environmental consultants, and others to explore various land use possibilities such as a research park on the Harbor Branch campus focused on coastal and ocean science.

"What we've done is teamed up with a philosophy as opposed to a developer, " said Pomponi, "We've identified someone that embraces our environmental priorities, and we're confident that working with them we will be able to establish a plan that will benefit Harbor Branch and the community."

For more information, photos or video of the Harbor Branch campus, or other requests, please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390, or Schrope@hboi.edu.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.