ABOUT

PI-CASC CONSORTIUM:
UNIVERSITY OF GUAM

The University of Guam, or Unibetsedåt Guåhan, is a four-year, land-grant institution in the Western Pacific which serves as the primary center for higher education and research in Micronesia, maintaining strong ties with the regional community colleges that provide associates’ degrees and professional training. The majority of the 3900 students (graduate and undergraduate) enrolled at UOG are from under-represented communities (94% are of Asian-Pacific Islander ethnicity). PI-CASC at UOG works with federal and local partners to expand the opportunities for the whole region, including Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. UOG serves as a key research institution in the Pacific with many research capabilities relevant to PI-CASC, including environmental sciences, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), marine biology, natural resource management, impacts of coastal development and use, and Micronesian and social science research on impacts of climate and land-use changes on island communities.

UOG has several on-site research facilities, such as the Water and Environmental Research Institute (WERI), Marine Laboratory (ML), UOG Sea Grant, and the Micronesian Area Research Center. Because of its small size and limited funding, UOG seeks to leverage funds from PI-CASC with other federally funded programs such as NSF and NASA EPSCoR, and grants received from NOAA, USGS, and DOI Office of Insular Affairs.

Partnerships

Within UOG, PI-CASC partners closely with the Center for Island Sustainability (CIS), a program initiated by UOG to tackle various issues relating to island sustainability and continues to develop islands-based models for sustainability. A key program developed by PI-CASC at UOG is the GIS@CIS center for climate science GIS investigations, designed to promote outreach throughout the USAPI by bringing GIS training and supporting data to the western Pacific. Partnering with both NASA and NSF EPSCoR, the GIS@CIS program was able to expand its capabilities substantially. Read more about these efforts at the GIS program page

UOG has long-standing partnerships with the Department of Defense, USGS, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and NOAA and also works closely with local government agencies such as Guam EPA, the Guam Coastal Management Program, and the Guam Department of Agriculture on a variety of natural resource management issues. PI-CASC at UOG serves as a key member of the Guam Climate Change Task Force, working with the Office of the Governor to conduct a climate change vulnerability assessment of Guam.

Regionally, PI-CASC at UOG partners with agencies in Guam, Palau, the Marshall Islands, the Department of Environmental Quality in CNMI, NGO’s such as the Micronesian Conservation Trust in Pohnpei, and Historical Preservation Offices throughout USAPI to share resources such as GIS software, access to UAV support for projects, and data resources.

CONSORTIUM

QUICK LINKS

CONTACTS

Dr. Romina King, University Consortium Lead
roking@triton.uog.edu
(671) 735-2880