Contact:  Dane Konop                  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                      3/19/96

RONALD C. BAIRD NAMED NATIONAL SEA GRANT DIRECTOR

Ocean scientist, educator and businessman Ronald C. Baird has been named director of the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced today.

Baird will assume his new position with NOAA in Silver Spring, Md., June 3, after completing his tenure as vice president of university relations at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

NOAA administrator D. James Baker called Baird's selection, the result of a national search, "an exceptional choice." "Dr. Baird's experience in business and education, as a scientist and college administrator, makes him uniquely qualified to lead Sea Grant, whose continued success in helping to protect and preserve our marine environment hinges on a solid working partnership between business, government and the university research community," Baker said.

Baird will direct the National Sea Grant College Program, a network of over 300 colleges, universities, research institutions and marine organizations that work in partnership with industry, the federal government, and state governments to support marine and Great Lakes research, education and extension services.

On his appointment, Baird said, "In an era of limited resources and global environmental challenges to coastal resources, the products of an active industrial, academic and government research partnership will be absolutely critical to our ability to manage coastal resources on a sustainable basis. Sea Grant is just such a partnership, with a track record of achievements. Being part of an enterprise whose goal is the health and well being of our invaluable coastal resources is a challenge I welcome."

At Worcester Polytechnic, the nation's third oldest college of engineering and science, Baird is responsible for the university's external relations, including its news service, development office, corporate relations, alumni programs and university publications. He helped develop the school's first comprehensive corporate relations program and as an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology and Biotechnology has maintained an active research program.

Before joining Worcester Polytechnic, he was director of research at Geo-Marine, Inc., an engineering consulting firm in Dallas, Texas. He was also the president of Schuster Corporation, an investment concern in the greater Worcester area.

From 1990-95, he was a member of the National Sea Grant Review Panel, a 15-member, independent citizens advisory committee.

Baird received a B.S. in zoology from Yale University in 1958. Following service as a naval officer, he received an M.A. in zoology in 1965 from the University of Texas, Austin. He received his Ph.D. in biological oceanography from Harvard University in 1969. His principal research interests involve the organization of oceanic ecosystems and natural resource management.