HRI: Edward H. Harte

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EDWARD H. HARTE
A TRUE STEWARD OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Edward H Harte

Ed Harte's $46 million endowment for the Harte Research Institute of Gulf of Mexico Studies is just the most recent example of both his generosity and commitment to wise stewardship of our natural resources.

Mr. Harte has been an advocate of habitat protection and offshore drilling regulation for many years. William H. Dietel, chairman of the American Farmland Trust, said, "Ed has been a man of conservation for many years ... Ed has the capacity to see critical need."

As a man able to see critical need, habitat protection has been a major component of Ed's stewardship of the environment. In the 1980s he became active in farmland conservation and helped transform the American Farmland Trust into a national organization. Today the Trust helps protect farm and ranchland from urban sprawl and promotes environmentally friendly land management that benefits wildlife. He and his brother, Houston, donated their 66,000-acre ranch in the foothills of the Rosillos Mountains to Big Bend National Park, where it became the North Rosillos Mountains Preserve. He lobbied for establishment of both Mustang Island State Park and Padre Island National Seashore that together have helped protect the diversity of habitats and wildlife found on Mustang and Padre islands. In addition, he and a committee of other concerned citizens came up with the first municipal regulations that set limits on oil and gas drilling in Corpus Christi Bay. These regulations became a model for future state and federal standards.

Ed has been active in a number of environmental organizations. He was the chairman of the board of the National Audubon Society in the late 1970s and a board member during the 1990s. He is a member of the board of the American Farmland Trust who honored him in 2001 when they established a trust fund for farmland conservation in his name. He is a past officer of the Texas State Parks Board Planning Committee. He was named "A Man for all Seasons" when he accepted the Corpus Christi Rotary Club's Harvey Weil Sportsman/Conservationist Award in 2002.

Ed was born in Pilot Grove, Missouri in 1922 and grew up in San Angelo, Texas. After attending school in Mexico City for a year, he finished his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College. He served in the weather wing of the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII.

After completing his military service, Ed began his long and illustrious career as a newspaper reporter, editor and, eventually, publisher. He began as a reporter for the Daily Eagle in Claremont, New Hampshire. It was during this first job that he met Janet W. Frey whom he married in 1947. He became editor of the Daily News in Snyder, Texas, in 1950 and with his brother and Andrew Shelton of Abilene, converted it from a weekly to a daily paper. He returned to San Angelo in 1952 as president of the Standard-Times.

Ed and his family came to Corpus Christi in 1956 when he became the promotions and public relations director for the Corpus Christi Caller-Times. He became the publisher of the Caller-Times in 1962, a title that he retained until his retirement in 1987. He was also an editor of the newspaper during the 1970s and 1980s.

Ed, his wife Janet, and their four children, Christopher M., William S., Elizabeth and Julia have traveled the world to look at wildlife. Ed is an avid birder, a hobby that he and his wife shared until her death in 1999. Ed's love of the outdoors and his passion for conservation have infused all he has come in contact with. His friend and neighbor, Joe Hornblower, summed it up best when he said, "Ed seems to be happiest when he's out in his garden, at the ranch or just outside anywhere looking at birds."

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HRI endowment to boost gulf studies
Source: CC Caller-Times
By Adriana Garza

July 25, 2007 - Mexican and Cuban scientists studying the Gulf of Mexico and its ecosystems will have the opportunity to research in Corpus Christi because of a $1.5 million endowment to the Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies.

The Harte Research Institute, part of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, received the endowment from philanthropist and former Caller-Times Publisher Ed Harte and the local Hornblower family. The endowment will help fund teaching and research fellowships for guest scientists from Mexico and Cuba studying at the institute.

Harte said the program will foster cooperation among marine scientists in the nations around the Gulf of Mexico.

"None of the science institutes from the United States, Cuba and Mexico can make much difference operating (alone), but together all three countries can address the critical problems related to the gulf and together seek appropriate solutions," he said in a press release.

The fellowships provided by the endowment will be named for institute director Robert Furgason, who is retiring at the end of the year.

"We wanted to name it for Dr. Furgason because of his superb direction of the institute during the first years of its life," Harte said. Harte previously donated a $46 million endowment to fund the institute that bears his name and opened in 2005.

Furgason said having a working relationship among the three countries is crucial because of their shared interest in the gulf.

"If you think about it, marine life doesn't know Mexico from the U.S. and Cuba," Furgason said. "Every country that borders the gulf has a major role in how marine life ecosystems thrive or don't in the Gulf of Mexico."

Jonathan Hornblower, a trustee of the Harte Support Foundation, said the gift from his family's estate will help differentiate the institute from other marine biology programs.

"We're interested in making the Harte Research Institute a tri-nationally focused effort with Cuban and Mexican scientists to help focus the science on maintaining the gulf," Hornblower said.

An endowment is a financial gift or donation that is invested to generate income. The principal of an endowment remains intact, while the income it generates is used to provide scholarship and fellowship opportunities.

Two post-doctoral students from Mexico are among about 25 students researching at the institute. Furgason said the new fellowships will help the institute reach out to universities, organizations and agencies in Mexico and Cuba to recruit prospective researchers.

There won't be a formal application process; instead institute and university officials will solicit scientists from the two countries to study at the Harte Research Institute.

University officials expect to recruit several scientists by 2008.

"These generous fellowships from the Harte and Hornblower families are a major step forward in our goal to erase all boundaries and work together to better manage this vital asset for today and tomorrow," said A&M-Corpus Christi President Flavius Killebrew in a prepared statement.