the areas. A full-time administrative assistant will be hired for the program.
Our library resources are considered adequate for existing KSU graduate and undergraduate programs. Over the last five years, the KSU Blazer Library has added a substantial number of books on environmental topics as part of the campus-wide environmental education improvement plan. The KSU library also works in close collaboration with the Kentucky Virtual Library. A listing of KSU's environmental books and catalogued items are presented in Appendix C2. The Blazer library also has online access to numerous journals.
Adequate computer facilities are available in the participating departments and the Land Grant Program. In addition to existing departmental computer facilities, students will be able to take advantage of the recently established state-of-the-art Geographic Information System (GIS) computer laboratory located at the co-op extension building. Students in the program will also take advantage of the existing laboratory facilities in the division of mathematics and sciences, the aquaculture department, and the Land Grant Atwood Research Building. In addition, some of the capstone project studies will be conducted in collaboration with the central laboratory of the Environmental Protection Cabinet and the Transportation Cabinet environmental services laboratories. These facilities will allow students to choose from a wide range of project topics.
The environmental initiatives outlined in the previous section have been primarily funded by external grants that the KUPEE Center for Environmental Education has been receiving for the past several years. The funding agencies include the U.S. Department of Education (through Murray State University) and the Kentucky Environmental Education Council (KEEC). Recently, KSU was awarded two USDA Capacity Building grants (approximately $400,000) which provided the necessary funding for the development of the aquatic ecology and the environmental science and bioremediation.
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