Nancy Marcus

Nancy Helen Marcus (May 17, 1950 – February 12, 2018) was an American biologist and oceanographer.

During her graduate studies, Marcus became known as an expert on copepod ecology and evolutionary biology.

She began her career as a postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution where she studied copepod dormancy and its implications for marine aquaculture.

She continued her field research as a professor of oceanography and later as the director of the Florida State University Marine Laboratory (FSU).

During this time Marcus was elected as a Fellow of the Association for Women in Science and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and served as the president of the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

As the president, she led efforts in increase education activities and to increase the endowment fund.

Nancy Helen Marcus was born in New York City on May 17, 1950, to Betty Levy and Harold T. Marcus of New Rochelle, New York.

She was raised in New Rochelle with her Brother Theodore.

At the age of 10, Marcus began performing magic and ventriloquism, continuing to practice the former into adulthood.

She became interested in science from a young age.

Marcus attended her mother's alma mater, Goucher College.

In 1971, Marcus was on a team of undergraduate researchers from Goucher and Towson University who participated in a study entitled "An Analysis on the Degradation of Lake Roland."

The students received a $13,140 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to complete the investigation.

In her senior year, Marcus and a colleague conducted field research on phytoplankton at the Duke University Marine Lab in January 1972.

During her undergraduate studies, Marcus also studied at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research.

She was encouraged to pursue graduate studies by researchers she met at Goucher.

Marcus earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology in 1972.

She completed a master's degree and Doctorate in Biology with a concentration in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Yale University in 1976.

Her dissertation was titled Genotypic and Phenotypic Variation in the Sea Urchin Arbacia Punctulata (Gray).

She dedicated her dissertation to Mary E. Clutter of NSF.

Her doctoral advisor was Joseph Ramus.

Marcus received funding support through grants-in-aid from Sigma Xi, NSF grant, NICHD Training Grant, NSF Traineeship, and Yale University Fellowships.

She became known as an accomplished oceanographer and an expert on the study of copepods through her graduate research and studies.

Marcus worked as a postdoctoral fellow at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution from 1976 to 1978.

Her expertise was in the ecology and evolutionary biology of copepods.

In 1978, Marcus was hired as an associate scientist in the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

She researched dormancy in copepods and how it applies to marine aquaculture.

In 1984, Marcus and associate scientist George Grice completed a two and a half week trip in China at the invitation of professor Zheng Zhong, the founder of the marine biology program at Xiamen University.

Marcus and Grice presented papers on the reproductive biology of copepods.

Marcus stated that "there's great interest in the type of work we're doing and a need for U.S. scientific equipment and expertise."

Starting in September 1984, a visiting scientist from Xiamen researched in Marcus' lab for a year.

Marcus began working at Florida State University (FSU) as an associate professor of oceanography in 1987.

She became a full professor in 1991.

In 2005, Marcus transitioned from the sciences to college administration when she was appointed Dean of the FSU Graduate School.

During her tenure, FSU nearly doubled the number of doctoral degrees awarded annually.

She created several graduate academic programs and the FSU Office of Graduate Fellowships and Awards.

Marcus served a term as chair of the Board of Directors for the Council of Graduate Schools to address the future of graduate education.

Outside of academia, Marcus was a magician and ventriloquist.

She served on the Goucher College Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2016 and was previously the chair of the academic affairs committee.

Marcus died on February 12, 2018, after two years of treatment for uveal melanoma.