University of Delaware
209 Hullihen Hal
700 Pilottown Rd.
Lewes, DE 19958
Phone: 302-831-4007
Carolyn Thoroughgood Professor of Marine and Earth Studies University of Delaware
COSEE Role:
Former National Advisory Committee member
Primary COSEE Affiliation:
Other affiliations:
- COSEE.net
Interaction with COSEE Network:
Attends National Advisory Committee meetings
Background with Respect to Ocean Sciences Education:
Carolyn Thoroughgood, Professor of Marine and Earth Studies, is Special Assistant to the Provost for
Program Development at the University of Delaware. Until July, 2008 she held the positions of Vice
Provost for Research and Graduate Studies at the University of Delaware and President of the Delaware
Technology Corporation. From 1984 to 2004, she served as Dean of UD’s College of Marine Studies and
Director of the Delaware Sea Grant College Program. Dr. Thoroughgood joined the UD faculty in 1968 as
a nutritional biochemist and conducted Sea Grant research on the nutritional needs of bivalves reared in
closed-environment systems. She was one of the organizers and officers of the Council on Ocean Affairs,
a national organization of marine academic institutions that preceded the Consortium for Oceanographic
Research and Education (CORE). She served as CORE’s first Chair of the Board of Governors and was
CORE’s Acting President from December 2001 to August 2002, when she also became the principal
investigator on the first Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence (COSEE) Central Coordinating
Office proposal to the National Science Foundation. She served on the Science Advisory Panel to the U.S.
Commission on Ocean Policy and currently is on the Science Advisory Board of the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration. Additionally, she is on the Southeastern University Research
Association (SURA) Executive Committee and Chairs SURA’s Coastal Committee. She also is the P.I. for the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (MACOORA) and is an active
participant in implementation of the nation’s Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Dr.
Thoroughgood cares deeply about the ocean sciences and is honored to be incoming president of The
Oceanography Society (TOS). In that new capacity, she intends to work with the TOS Council and its
members to expand public awareness and support for the ocean sciences.
