Ana Spalding, the first Marine Studies Initiative faculty hire in the College of Liberal Arts, found her own way to combine a lifelong love for the ocean with teaching and research that integrates perspectives from the humanities and the natural and social sciences.

Oregon State’s new bachelor’s degree in marine studies “is a degree I would have done as an undergrad,” Spaulding says. She’s now leading students along a similar path, taking an interdisciplinary approach to the complex issues facing marine ecosystems and coastal communities.