SPMC's Mission
The Shannon Point Marine Center supports and promotes the academic mission of the Western Washington University with respect to its programs in the marine sciences. We pursue our mission through academic programs of education and research; two endeavors that are closely articulated at SPMC. Indeed, all education programs incorporate elements of research experience and all research programs involve the active participation of both undergraduates and Master's students. Learning opportunities for undergraduates are, and will continue to be, characterized by access to training in field and laboratory investigative techniques that are extraordinary in their level of sophistication and scope.
Academic activities at SPMC focus on support of programs on the main campus that permit students to specialize in marine science within their broader degree programs. Such students take courses at the Marine Center offered by their home departments, benefit from contributions SPMC makes to courses offered on the main campus, and take advantage of special opportunities for independent research provided by SPMC. SPMC is thus a main campus program whose facilities are strategically located at a site in Anacortes that is particularly conducive to supporting study of marine science.By promoting direct access to the marine environment via our vessel fleet and the 3000’ of intertidal beachfront on our campus, by providing the instructional and research benefits of holding animals and plants under controlled conditions in tanks fed by our running sea water system, and by engaging students in an environment that is designed to promote research,we are able to provide a “value added” element to the courses offered by Western academic programs and to the degree programs of Western students.
Marine laboratories traditionally have served not only their home institutions, but also have contributed to the national infrastructure for the support of marine science. SPMC addresses this obligation in a manner consistent with its academic mission by focusing on providing learning opportunities to a specific component of the national marine science community; namely, the students who attend the approximately 3000 colleges and universities that provide neither courses nor programs to satisfy their interests in marine science. In pursuing this part of its mission, SPMC will continue to emphasize its commitment to providing educational opportunities to racial/ethnic groups under-represented in the sciences. Accordingly, SPMC operates federally-sponsored programs that provide specialized training and research experience to students from around the nation, including minority students. Such programs are designed to improve the learning environment at SPMC for all students.
It is an inherent element of the mission of a comprehensive public university that it apply its professional expertise to public issues via both scholarship and service. Given the significance of the marine environment and its living resources to the region, it is an important element of SPMC’s mission to engage in scholarly research that provides new information about these resources. Such activities are carried out at the highest level of sophistication and are communicated to the scientific community and to the general public via appropriate communication vehicles. It is also a part of our mission to provide expert advice to local, State, and federal resource agencies in areas of our expertise and to participate in both general public and K-12 education on marine issues.
In order to accomplish its academic mission, SPMC continuously seeks to keep up with current trends in marine research and to maintain a facilities' base that can continue to provide scientists with the infrastructure necessary to maintain productivity and students with extraordinary learning opportunities. In order to be successful at this endeavor, SPMC accommodates new approaches to existing programs and explores new areas of appropriate academic activity. In all of its academic programs, SPMC will continue to engage in an assessment approach that can be used to determine our effectiveness in accomplishing our mission and to improve our pursuit of excellence in doing so.