With overfishing, rising sea levels and ocean temperatures, plastics pollution, and increasing ocean acidification, the need for research and passionate professionals in the marine studies field is greater than ever. 

The M/V Osprey With our 38-acre, oceanfront campus, two island research stations, and our fleet—including Rhodes 19 sailboats, Borealis, a marine mammal stranding response boat and data collection platform, and M/V Osprey, a 46-foot research vessel and marine classroom—we have the bones for such a program. But we want salt water in the blood of everyone at COA. We want artists to use these magical places to paint and draw, and geology classes to use Mount Desert Rock to explore the geological history of the islands. We want film students to document working waterfronts, and chemistry classes to measure ocean salinity up and down the coast. In short, we want all students to experience College ON the Atlantic.

To maximize the educational potential of our offshore islands—Mount Desert Rock and Great Duck Island—and the coast itself, we will be developing our waterfront to improve access to the Gulf of Maine and creating a Gulf of Maine Innovation Fund to enable more faculty members, students, and visitors to use these remarkable assets to their full potential.

Update: Thanks to the Broad Reach campaign, the Waterfront Fund has been endowed.