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CORVALLIS, Ore. - One of the nation's leading marine science education and research facilities is getting a new director.

Robert K. Cowen, a marine biologist and administrator from Miami, Fla., has been named director of Oregon State University's Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport. He succeeds George Boehlert, who recently retired.

Janet Webster will continue serving as interim director of the center until Cowen begins his duties in late July.

Cowen holds the Robert C. Maytag Chair of Ichthyology at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, where he has served on the faculty since 1998. He previously was on the faculty of State University of New York at Stony Brook and conducted research as a doctoral student at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego, Calif.

"Bob Cowen has marine science education and research experience on both coasts and is well-suited to lead the Hatfield Marine Science Center into the future," said Richard Spinrad, OSU's vice president for research. "That future could include the development of a cohesive marine science-based curriculum as well as continuing to expand the center's robust research and public outreach missions."

Cowen's studies range broadly, encompassing such issues as coastal fish ecology, fishery oceanography, larval transport and connectivity of marine organism populations. He has served on numerous national committees and panels, and is affiliated with the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO), a multi-institutional research effort led by OSU. He also has served as associate dean for research at the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

"I am very enthusiastic about joining the Hatfield Marine Science Center and OSU - not only for their great reputation, but also for the huge potential for bridging marine science education and science activities across the university," Cowen said.

OSU's Hatfield Marine Science Center is located on a 49-acre site in Newport, and has a combined annual budget of about $45 million and 300 employees. Its mission includes both research and education and what makes the facility unique, officials say, is that it houses scientists and educators from OSU and several federal and state agencies - a collaborative environment unmatched at most marine science facilities in the country.

Among those agencies are the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Environmental Protection Agency.

The center also includes the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies - a joint research initiative between OSU and NOAA; the university's Marine Mammal Institute; the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, which is the first of its kind in the country; and the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, a national leader in the development of wave energy.

"I look forward to working with all partners at Hatfield to further its education, science and public outreach missions," Cowen said.