The Marine Studies program at Oxnard College has been awarded a federal grant of $500,000.

“This is a fabulous opportunity, ” said Dr. Lorraine Buckley, the grant’s principal investigator and biology instructor at Oxnard College. “This will give students a hands-on opportunity to do science, as opposed to studying science.”

The grant, awarded because of the program’s extensive white abalone research, and provided by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, will be used to train students in an Entrepreneurial and Educational Partnership Program.

Students will participate in a three-part program of academics, hands-on experience, and research in the laboratory and at sea.

The program at Oxnard College also includes marine conservation activities and community outreach. With the help of the grant, Oxnard College students will be able to work with scientists of the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and Channel Islands Marine Resource Institute at their facilities and at the new Oxnard College Marine Education Center.

The center is located in Channel Islands Harbor and opened in January 2005. Courses offered at the center include marine biology, oceanography and aquaculture. The center also boasts an exhibit of live sea creatures and a simulation of coastal waves.

The majority of the grant provides direct support for students in the form of educational supplies and travel expenses. The grant will also cover the cost of some instructional equipment, student ship time aboard a research vessel, and audio-visual equipment for recording and analyzing data collected by research divers.

The goals of the grant are to increase the amount of transfers to four-year colleges and encourage students to consider careers in the marine science field.