Expansion of the Housing Facilities for Guest Researchers at The University of Oklahoma Biological Station

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A grant has been awarded to the University of Oklahoma Biological Station (UOBS), under the direction of Dr. Lawrence J. Weider, to construct a triplex housing facility to expand and enhance housing accommodations for guest researchers and students. UOBS is located on the north-shore of Lake Texoma, an approximately 88,000 surface acre reservoir on the Oklahoma-Texas border. The UOBS faculty has both a national and international reputation in the field of aquatic (freshwater) ecology. Since the founding of UOBS in 1949, thousands of guest researchers, students, and conference participants have visited and stayed at the Biological Station for various lengths of time. Nearly 1100 publications, 150+ theses, and nearly 1100 undergraduate research projects have been completed at UOBS during its history. However, one long-term problem at UOBS, relates to the inadequate housing facilities for long-term guest researchers (e.g. sabbatical visitors, post-docs) and accompanying family members. A 2,800 square-foot, fully-furnished, triplex guest researcher housing facility will be constructed at UOBS near Willis, Oklahoma. Each of the three fully-furnished apartments will consist of two-bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully-functioning kitchen and living/dining area. (One of the units will be handicapped-accessible.) The triplex unit will be constructed on a recently purchased 7.3 acre tract of land, adjacent to the main UOBS campus. This three-apartment unit will greatly enhance the ability of UOBS to host longer-term guest researcher teams (between 1-6 persons per apartment) or guest researchers and accompanying family members, and will complement present housing facilities that serve the needs of short-term guests (i.e. students, conference participants). UOBS is one of the largest field stations in the south-central U.S., and its year-round faculty/staff conduct research related to important issues in aquatic ecology ranging from exotic species invasions to ecosystem studies of water resources. Nationally and internationally-recognized researchers collaborate with UOBS scientists. The benefits from constructing such a housing unit will be seen via increased guest researcher use, allowing more researchers to access unique habitats and features of the region surrounding UOBS, and tackle some of the key ecological and environmental issues related to aquatic resources. With an increased researcher-base, other programs at the station such as on-site undergraduate and graduate training, as well as public education programs (i.e. K-12 outreach) will benefit from enhancement of the intellectual/scholarly climate at UOBS.