This school year is off to a very active start as you will detect
by the stories in this edition of the
HRI News. Recently I was asked
how many people are now associated with the Harte Institute – a
harder question to answer than might seem. The answer is between 50
and 100! Why the big discrepancy? We have approximately 54 people
directly associated with HRI of which about 35 are graduate students
and 19 faculty, staff, and post-doctoral personnel. A number of
other students, both graduate and undergraduate, are doing projects
and activities related to the issues of the Gulf of Mexico –
the Harte mission - and use facilities in the
HRI building. Additionally, there are other faculty members who have
been designated as Harte Research Associates many of whom have
activities in and access to the facilities. So adding all these up, the
100 number may even be low. In any event, the building is bustling
with activities and filling up.
We are in the initial stages of organizing the “State of the
Gulf Mexico Summit – II.” At the invitation of Governor Fidel
Herrera Beltrán, State of Veracruz, Mexico, we are working with his
staff to begin developing a tentative program and objectives. As you
may know, we held the first “Summit”
program here in Corpus Christi in the spring of 2006 with Governor
Perry of Texas as a co-host. We think it is quite appropriate to
hold the next Summit in Mexico to further emphasize the tri-national
nature of the HRI mission. Our initial target date for the program
is early in 2009. This timing is consistent with our objectives of
examining the characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico at regular
intervals to assess the issues that exist and what progress is being
made to address these
problems and issues.
Our Harte Institute Advisory Council will be meeting here on
December 6-7, 2007. The Advisory Council has been very helpful in
establishing the vision and objectives of the Institute from its
origin. These are always lively meetings with many ideas circulating
around the room. We appreciate the wise counsel these members
provide for us.
- Bob Furgason, Executive Director
