It’s been a busy couple of years since I last posted a message – somehow writing such communications is always less pressing than the issues du jour, which are ever-changing. But as we enter 2023, FHL is in great shape. Covid isn’t gone but is no longer affecting our operations in any substantive way. Last summer, we hosted a thriving REU program, three courses each in sessions A and B, and many researchers. In fact, we were so full that we had to turn away or shorten stays for visiting researchers due to a lack of housing and/or lab space – a situation we anticipate for summers into the future. Campus has also become busier in spring and fall during recent years, but we have room to accommodate more and are seeking to increase usage in these times and even in winter. Bringing in students and researchers during the non-summer seasons is one of the foci of a new Strategic Plan for FHL, currently in the works; now that FHL is healthy and growing, it’s a good time to ponder where we are and where we are going.

Thanks to an NSF grant, we are in the midst of renovating the interior of Lab 2 and will be buying new equipment for it to be a Marine Genomic Center. Some pictures and more details on this and other efforts can be seen in our Intertidal Tidings Newsletter.

Another project we are working on, in an effort to open up more research and storage space for our increasing numbers of researchers, is a campus-wide Purge. Peggy began this process in the stockroom by surplussing equipment that was permanently broken or hadn’t been used in decades. As we expand the effort to the rest of campus, we are discovering a host of old “treasures”– jars of preserved critters from the 1960s and costumes from past Invertebrate Balls – in addition to heaps of abandoned glassware, boxes of supplies stored by researchers who haven’t been here in decades, etc. Out with the old to make space for the new!

An exciting activity that doesn’t involve shoving out anyone or anything (but also requiring space) is a planned addition to our resident faculty: the UW Provost is supplying funds for us to hire a Teaching Faculty member. The new member will be based at FHL at least nine months/year, supporting the increasing demand from UW Marine Biology majors coming to FHL to fulfill their major’s course requirements. We hope to hire someone who also wants to conduct research here and becomes truly resident! Running parallel with this search is a brainstorming effort about how best to modify and expand our curriculum to increase the FHL undergraduate population during the academic year (especially spring and fall quarters), since “butts in seats” (technically, student credit-hours) form the basis of much resource allocation at the University.

Finally, a very sad (for us) but happy (for her) change that is coming: our amazing Advancement Officer Rachel Anderson is leaving FHL in February. Rachel has done an incalculable amount for FHL since she stepped into her role almost 20 years ago. She has built up a tremendous, well-stewarded donor base and greatly amplified student support. The majority of both our graduate and undergraduate course students rely on these donor-funded scholarships, and likewise our graduate student researchers rely on donor funds to help cover their expenses. Rachel’s warm personality, remarkable empathy, and ability to communicate with people from many walks of life will be almost impossible to replace, but she is looking forward to more travel and being able to spend quality time with her family.

For other updates, keep an eye on the News and Events section in the email announcing a new Tide Bite on the 1st of each month. If you aren’t signed up for Tide Bites, I encourage you to do so!

Dr. Megan N. Dethier, FHL Director
January 2023