The $46 million endowed Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies (HRI) continues to broaden its tri-national collaborative effort with top scientists from the U.S., Mexico and Cuba supporting the HRI’s mission to enhance the long-term sustainable use and conservation of the Gulf of Mexico.

Donor funds from Ed Harte will provide for an HRI director and six endowed chairs, while $18 million in legislative funds are making the Institute’s state-of-the-art facility possible. The 55,000 square-foot building has six wet labs, two dry labs and two seawater labs and is scheduled for completion in Spring 2005. The search is now underway to fill the first two chair positions – one in coastal and marine policy and another in marine geographic information systems.

Significant achievements accomplished by HRI thus far include the first all-species inventory of any large marine ecosystem, the creation of GulfBase, a searchable, sortable Web site for researchers and research institutes, and work on a 50-year update of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s “Bulletin 89: Gulf of Mexico – Its Origins, Waters, and Marine Life,” HRI’s base document for research. HRI will hold its first major State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit in Corpus Christi Nov. 7-9, 2005.

Balancing these scientific strides is the steady growth of the visual and performing arts departments and the soon-to-be-completed $18 million Performing Arts Center. Again, the state legislature partnered with the University and generous local patrons for an exceptional 1,500-seat concert hall featuring 360 degree seating, a stage capable of seating 85 musicians, and superior acoustics.