Consortium, from the Latin consors, for partner, is defined by the American Heritage Dictionary as an “association or a combination for the purpose of engaging in a joint venture.”
Consortia (rather than consortiums) is the plural of consortium.
Why, then, is the Keck Center called the training arm of the Gulf Coast ConsortiA, not the Gulf Coast ConsortiUM?
The Gulf Coast Consortia (GCC) is made up of six different consortial groups (see list on the main web page)organized around specific scientific aims. These groups make up the research arm of the GCC, just as the nine different training programs make up the training arm (the Keck Center) of the GCC.
Each of these consortial research groups has institutional members as well as faculty members that may differ from consortium to consortium. While each research consortium has different objectives, all are united under one organization – the GCC – because they share the overall goal to advance interdisciplinary science and research.
Together this whole, complex, collaborative collection of consortia of research groups and training programs forms the Gulf Coast Consortia for Interdisciplinary Bioscience Research and Training.
Another mystery solved!
About the GCC