Summary

Mission Statement: The Dauphin Island Sea Lab Foundation supports the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) in its mission, "to provide wise stewardship of the marine environment through education and research.” The Foundation provides funds to sustain the activities of the Sea Lab and promotes awareness of the Sea Lab and environmental issues. The Foundation is also building an endowment for the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.

DISL is Alabama’s marine research and educational institution. DISL, was founded in 1971 by the Alabama Legislature, to maximizes the state's marine sciences capabilities and minimize program duplication at Alabama institutes of higher learning. DISL serves twenty-three Alabama colleges and universities, including four historically black colleges and universities, both public and private. The DISL faculty work toward the combined purposes of conducting marine research and providing excellent marine science education. DISL was recently named the Restore Act-funded Alabama Center for Excellence by the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council.

The DISL University Programs include both graduate and undergraduate courses taught throughout the academic year. This provides two dozen courses and 1700 credit hours for upwards of 200 students from the member institutions. Over 250 graduate degrees have been awarded to DISL based students over the past 25 years.

The DISL Discovery Hall Programs offers a K-12 program that serves students from the entire state of Alabama. It engages classroom teachers and students in the study of marine science throughout the year resulting in more than 55,000 contact hours with over 17,000 students. The traveling Baymobile takes marine science to children in under-served schools reaching over 8000 students in nearly every Alabama county.