oCEAN SURF 94

Quiksilver & USC Announce Partnership to Promote Science and Environmental Education

The University of Southern California's College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies and Quiksilver, Inc. announced today a partnership to improve science and environmental education for students in grades K-12. Quiksilver will provide financial support as well as in-kind contributions to help enhance and expand the existing USC Wrigley Instituteís Center for Ocean Science Education Excellence (COSEE-West).

The QuikSCience Partnership will also include the establishment of the "QuikSCience Challenge," designed to encourage 7th and 8th grade students in five Southern California counties to find innovative ways to work with their teachers and schools to adopt and improve the COSEE curriculum for use in their science classes. Students will compete for the opportunity to spend a week in the Caribbean Sea studying aboard The Indian Trader, a 72-foot ocean research vessel sponsored by Quiksilver, or a weekend research trip to the USC marine lab on Catalina Island.

Bob McKnight, CEO of Quiksilver said, "Quiksilver is grounded in a commitment to the environment and a fundamental connection to the ocean. As surfers, we have a deep appreciation for the ocean's beauty and its power, but also its fragility. As a leading global company, we have a responsibility to give back and support the communities in which we operate and we believe education is one of the best ways to give back. Through this program we hope to excite kids about science and combine the familiarity of our brand with the amazing power of the ocean to make learning science relevant, fun, and even cool. We are incredibly proud to be working in partnership with such outstanding institutions as the National Science Foundation, area non-profits, museums, aquaria, several public universities and my own alma mater, USC."

Joseph Aoun, Dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, said, "We are privileged to partner with Quiksilver and its CEO, Bob McKnight, one of our distinguished alumni, to expand the USC Wrigley Institute's program to improve science and environmental education in area schools. The USC College recognizes that for students to realize their potential in college, they need to begin preparing early in their school years, particularly in the subjects of math and science. USC established its marine science program more than 100 years ago and for the past decade we have been extending the unique expertise of our faculty and graduate students into public school classrooms around Los Angeles. Quiksilver's support will help with a new innovative approach to better market this great program and extend our outreach to even more students."

Tony Michaels, Director of the USC Wrigley Institute said, "By partnering with a great company like Quiksilver, whose brand carries instant credibility and appeal among youth, we can access and interest even more kids in exploring the amazing world of science. Ultimately, we hope to inspire the next generation of marine scientists, but at minimum we will increase science literacy among all students we reach and foster a greater appreciation of the ocean and the need for responsible environmental stewardship."

Dr. Michaels also awarded eight area science teachers with the first COSEE West - Quiksilver Ocean Leadership Awards, for their commitment and accomplishments in developing ocean-related curricula to improve and enhance the quality of education they provide their students. The recipients are:

Maria Brunell, Riverside Elementary School
Rachel Espinoza, Hollenbeck Middle School
Steve Engelmann, Palisades High School
Daniel McDonnell, Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies
Ronald Ozuna, Roosevelt High School
Scott Sperber, Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies
Jennifer Trochez, Foshay Learning Center
Anne Marie Wotkyns, Monlux Magnet Elementary School

The QuikSCience Challenge
The QuikSCience Challenge encourages students to take a leadership role in improving their own science education. Schools will be asked to form teams to initiate a variety of marine science activities, including expanding the ocean-related content in the science curriculum, completing a public service activity that is tied to the oceans and submitting an "ocean education portfolio" that artistically presents the results of their work. These portfolios will be judged by a team of scientists, education experts, creative artists and athletes. The grand prize is a trip for the teacher-student team to meet up with the Crossing in the Caribbean Sea to spend a week working in local schools, conducting marine science research, learning about the local culture and being a major part of the Crossing experience. Second prize is a research weekend at the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center on Catalina Island. There will be additional prizes to recognize the efforts of the other participants. The first years' pilot project is open to the 7th or 8th grade classes of schools located in Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura, Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, with plans to expand future Challenges to include all grades.

Background on COSEE - West
The USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the Wrigley Institute have been involved with efforts to enhance science and environmental education in primary and secondary schools since the 1980s. These efforts include a decade of curriculum development and teacher training through the USC Sea Grant program and the USC "Good Neighbors" campaign. In 2002, USC, in partnership with UCLA, was awarded a competitive grant by the U.S. National Science Foundation for the COSEE-West program, to expand and accelerate the adoption of their innovative techniques and curricula by implementing a Master Teacher program that provides intensive training, enabling teachers to train other teachers. The program uses kids' love of the ocean and the power of discovery to make science more approachable and fun. So far, the combined program has trained more than 3,800 teachers in over 200 schools, reaching approximately 37,000 students.

About Quiksilver
Quiksilver designs, produces and distributes clothing, accessories and related products for young-minded people and develops brands that represent a casual lifestyle - driven from a boardriding heritage. Quiksilver's authenticity is evident in its innovative products, events and retail environments across the globe.

Quiksilver's primary focus is apparel for young men and young women under the Quiksilver, Roxy, Raisins, and Radio Fiji labels. Quiksilver also manufactures apparel for boys (Quiksilver Boys and Hawk Clothing), girls (Roxy Girl, Teenie Wahine and Raisins Girls), men (Quiksilveredition and Fidra) and women (Leilani swimwear), as well as snowboards, snowboard boots and bindings under the Lib Technologies, Gnu, Supernatural Mfg. and Bent Metal labels. Quiksilver's products are sold throughout the world, primarily in surf shops and specialty stores that provide an authentic retail experience for our customers.

About USC College
USC College plays an integrating role in the intellectual life of our academic community-it is the heart and soul of the university. More than 6,000 students are enrolled in nearly a hundred major programs and scores of minors. All undergraduates at USC take courses in the College, whether they are majoring in English or business, philosophy or physics, cinema or political science. The College generates more undergraduate credit hours than all of the other units of the university combined.

Basic research is also a primary focus of USC College. Most of the university's nonprofessional graduate programs are housed in the College. Its faculty publishes fundamental and innovative research in disciplines ranging across the life sciences, physical sciences, social sciences and humanities.

About The USC Wrigley Institute For Environmental Studies
The mission of the USC Wrigley Institute for Environmental Studies is to encourage responsible and creative decisions in society by providing an objective source of marine and environmental science and fostering an understanding of the natural world among people of all ages. Located on Catalina Island just 20 miles off the coast of Los Angeles, the Philip K. Wrigley Marine Science Center (WMSC) is the heart of the Wrigley Institute. Eight laboratories accommodate up to 24 researchers and groups of up to 60 students. Housing can host 65 overnight guests and provide meals for up to 150 people. The lab is used by faculty and students from USC and other regional universities and is available for a broad range of research and educational activities. The Institute was created in 1995 within the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and brings together the academic programs on the University Park Campus with the unique marine lab.