The President of URI, Francis H. Horn (see photo below), offered the position to John Knauss in a letter dated April 24, 1961:<\/p>\n \u201cWe are interested in having you come here because we are impressed not only with your scientific knowledge, your reputation, and your potential as an administrator, but because of your vision of what we can develop here by way of a major oceanographic research institution<\/strong>\u201d. <\/em><\/p>\n And on April 27, 1961 (57 years ago), John Knauss replied:<\/p>\n \u201cI am very pleased to accept the position of Dean of the Graduate School of Oceanography under the terms outlined in your letter of April 24.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n As mentioned in my previous (B)log, the Dean-Elect, Dr. John A. Knauss left California aboard the R\/V Trident, a 180 ft Army supply and maintenance ship that was repurposed and renovated as a ship for oceanographic research and they both arrived in Narragansett in January 1962. The R\/V Trident served GSO very well until she was retired in 1976 when the R\/V Endeavor, a ship built and designed for oceanography, arrived at GSO. The vision of both John Knauss and Francis Horn had been realized.<\/p>\n There was one other topic in that April 24th<\/sup> letter sent by President Horn:<\/p>\n \u201cWe have indicated to you that we wish to expand our activities in to the open ocean, which is where your major interest lies; on the other hand, we must emphasize once again that as a state institution we have an obligation to serve the particular interests connected with our own coastal waters.<\/strong> You have indicated in your conversation with me that you are aware of this and that you expect the program to be strengthened in all areas of its interests.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n And Dean-Elect Knauss replied in his letter of April 27:<\/p>\n I realized that in conversation with you and other members of the University I repeatedly emphasized my ideas on building the Narragansett Marine Laboratory into a major oceanographic institution\u2026However it was not my intention to give anyone cause for alarm in suggesting that \u201copen ocean\u201d work should be done to the exclusion of all else. There are many important problems concerned with coastal and estuarine waters, and in a state which appears to be roughly thirty percent sea water, I know that these problems are not only of scientific importance, but they are often of economic importance as well<\/strong>. I want to assure you that I will do what I can to strengthen the work of the Laboratory in local waters also<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n Dean Knauss was true to his word and he assembled a faculty with expertise not only in open ocean work, but in coastal and estuarine research. In February 1975 he was quoted in the URI student newspaper, \u201cThe Good 5\u00a2 Cigar\u201d as saying \u201cWe\u2019ve put together as much knowledge on Narragansett Bay as any estuary in the world\u201d (see map).<\/p>\n Which bring us back to the view at the Bay Campus Beach mentioned at the start of this (B)log. As stated above, there are two features that characterize GSO. One is to the right, our open ocean research vessel. The other is directly ahead, our estuary, Narragansett Bay. And on April 27, 1961, with the acceptance of the offer of our first dean, the Graduate School of Oceanography was launched and on its way to becoming a major oceanographic research institution.<\/p>\n Volume 1; Number 2<\/p>\n For further reading on these topics and more photos, check out <\/em><\/p>\n For the early history of GSO, the R\/V Trident, and the R\/V Endeavor, see the Providence Journal and Providence Evening Bulletin entries in the scrapbook: \u201cHistory of GSO, Fishes, Fire, and South Ferry Church\u201d assembled by <\/em>Joyce A. Downey<\/em><\/strong>, Coordinator of Library Services,<\/em> and located in the Pell Library. See also dates on <\/em>https:<\/a><\/em>\/\/web.uri.edu\/about\/history-and-timeline\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n To view the correspondence to and from John Knauss, see \u201cAn Offer Made and Accepted\u201d in Aboard GSO, Fall 2016, a publication of the Graduate School of Oceanography. This can be viewed or download at: <\/em>https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/gso\/aboard-gso-special-issue-fall-2016\/<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/916\/IMG_4688-Pres.-Francis-Horn-e1524713601136.jpg\")
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Courtesy of Y.Q.Wang, URI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\nThis blog post was written by Veronica M. Berounsky, GSO Science <\/em>Correspondent. She first arrived at GSO in March of 1979 as a research lab tech. In 1990 she obtained her Ph.D., working on nitrification in Narragansett Bay with the late Scott W. Nixon. She continues to be fascinated by the ecology of coastal ecosystems every day. With this blog she hopes to increase your understanding of the activities and people of GSO and the Narragansett Bay Campus. Please email any comments to her at <\/em>vmberounsky@uri.edu<\/em><\/a>.
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