About the College | Our History
From 1952 to 1956, this former restaurant at Bunting's Landing on the Lewes and Rehoboth Canal was known as the University of Delaware's Marine Laboratory. This painting was done by Dr. Allan Colburn in 1953.
1950
The College of Marine and Earth Studies has its roots in the marine environment. In 1950, a group of local fishermen, alarmed by a drastic decline in Delaware Bay fisheries, approached the Delaware General Assembly for help. The 116th session of the General Assembly responded by allocating $30,000 to set up a marine biology program in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware.
In March 1974, ground was broken for Cannon Lab, the first building of the University's new Marine Studies Complex in Lewes. Participating in the ground-breaking ceremony were, from left, Seymour (Sy) Orlofsky, President, Columbia LNG; James Beebe, MD, President of Beebe Hospital; Dr. E. Arthur Trabant, President University of Delaware; Honorable Sherman W. Tribbitt, Governor of Delaware; Dr. William S. Gaither, Founding Dean of CMS; Dr. Kent Price, Associate Dean, CMS.
1970
During those years, important programs in aquaculture, ocean engineering, and marine geology also emerged at the University. To unite these marine research programs, the Board of Trustees created the College of Marine Studies on June 6, 1970. The college's founders had a unique vision of an interdisciplinary marine institution that would include all aspects of human interaction with the sea. As a college of marine studies, its mission would be to move beyond just scientific examination by also studying the political, social, and economic dimensions of the marine environment. At a time when most marine programs were highly stratified by discipline, this novel approach catapulted the University of Delaware to the forefront of marine education.
1976
Just six years later, in 1976, the University of Delaware became the nation's ninth Sea Grant College, a designation which reflected the University's growing importance as a center for marine research. Today, there are thirty Sea Grant programs, one in every coastal state and one in Puerto Rico.
Penny Hall is the home of the Department of Geological Science. It is named in memory of Prof. Charles Lyndell Penny, who taught geology and mineralogy at the University from 1900-24. It was a gift of the family of Irenee du Pont (1876-63), and it also houses the University Mineralogical Museum, which has a collection of more than 6,000 specimens.
2006
The College has grown considerably since those early years. The most recent growth has been the addition of the Department of Geological Sciences in 2006. This union broadened the scope of the college and resulted in the name change from College of Marine Studies to College of Marine and Earth Studies. Until it joined CMES, Geology resided in the College of Arts and Sciences where it had been a department since 1960. The University of Delaware has offered undergraduate degrees in Geology since the early 1960's and has offered Master and Doctoral degrees in Geology since 1968.
Today
Today, we offer modern instruction and research facilities on both the Newark and Lewes campuses. The College is home to the world class Irenee DuPont Mineralogical Museum, the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, a state-of-the-art 146 ft research vessel and the world's only tiltable Wind-Wave-Current tank. Our original handful of faculty has expanded to a team of more than fifty professors and research scientists.
From its humble beginnings in 1951, our program that was once focused locally has evolved into a world-class institution whose influence is felt around the world.
