Saginaw Valley State University has officially approved the remaining $2.5 million needed to construct their new Lake Huron Environmental Research Station.
According to university officials, the project will not only work as a classroom for SVSU students but benefit the region as a whole. The research station will be constructed near the Saginaw Bay river mouth on a property owned by Dow Chemical Company.
SVSU's Dean of the College of Science, Engineering and Technology, Andrew Chubb, told WCMU that the Science Institute is "a great asset to the university, one that brings in a lot of community partners, has brought in millions of dollars in funding to support their research, and also outreach activities," Chubb said.
"It was pretty easy to to convince them of the value of this Environmental Science Research Station and the benefit that it's going to provide not just the university but the the region as well," explained Chubb.
Along with enhanced research at the institute, the station will help expand other academic programs that bring in a variety of students.
"On campus we bring in K-12 students, for instance, for workshops and camp," said David Karpovich, director of the Saginaw Bay Environmental Science Institute.
"We have days where we interact with the community on topics related to environmental science in the watershed. So, the research station will be no different. It will be a place for people to go and discover things about the environment and how it relates to the Saginaw Bay and its surroundings," Karpovich said.
The watershed is home to over 138 endangered and threatened species, and is considered a valuable resource of Michigan's economy.
Editor's note: In the interest of transparency, we note that Saginaw Valley State University is a financial supporter of WCMU.
