On December 14, Rhode Island Sea Grant honored one of the global pioneers in coastal management, Professor Stephen B. Olsen, director of the Coastal Resources Center (CRC) at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.

Professor Olsen received Rhode Island Sea Grant’s Lifetime Achievement Award, only the 6th such award given over its 40 year history, for his outstanding leadership of CRC and contributions to Rhode Island Sea Grant. Under his direction since 1975, CRC has developed a global reputation for innovation and action. CRC has raised over $70 million since 1985 to support programs in coastal resources management on three continents in the developing world as well as in the United States.

Professor Olsen has developed standardized methods that are being used throughout the world to develop new governance strategies and measure progress given the political, economic, social and ecological conditions of a particular place. Under his leadership, CRC has produced hundreds of peer reviewed publications, technical reports, best practices manuals, educational CD-ROMs, videos, atlases, and innovative training and public outreach programs. CRC is also known globally for its Summer Institutes that have created first-generation, second-generation, and now third-generation practitioners and decision-makers in coastal zone management.

The presentation of this Lifetime Achievement Award culminates Rhode Island Sea Grant’s 40th anniversary year of celebrations.

For more information, please see the full press release.