Center for Natural History and Conservation Planned for UW Campus |  
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Feb. 6, 2007 -- Research and education collections for the life sciences scattered throughout the University of Wyoming campus will be consolidated under one roof thanks to a $10 million gift that will create the Robert and Carol Berry Center for Natural History and Conservation.
The center will bring together the university's botany and zoology collections, the Rocky Mountain Herbarium, the Solheim Mycology Herbarium, the Wyoming Natural Diversity Database, and the Nucleic Acid Exploration Facility into a $20 million, 40,000 square-foot facility to be built on land currently occupied by the university's old power plant on Lewis Street. View image.
More than half of the center will be devoted to shared research and educational outreach, offices, classrooms, a lecture hall, seminar rooms, and a demonstration area. Construction is projected to begin in 2008, with completion in summer 2010.
"The Berry center will significantly elevate our academic programs in the life sciences, provide a recruiting magnet to attract the highest caliber faculty and students, help place UW's ecology program within the top echelon in the country, and stimulate innovative research," says UW President Tom Buchanan. The life sciences were designated as a university area of distinction since creation of the first Academic Plan in 1999. UW's ecology program was established in 2005.
"The center will provide a central location for students, scholars, and the public to gather for intellectual discussions over a cup of coffee in an atmosphere of historic collections," says Robert Berry. "Through research, education, and good science, the center will increase our ability to balance the residue of human progress with the natural world that sustains us, making Wyoming a better place in which to live and work."
Carol Brewer, a UW alumna and associate dean and professor of biological sciences at University of Montana, expresses enthusiasm for the Berry center, saying, "Over the last 10 years I have played a leadership role nationally and internationally to improve how scientists communicate about science with the public, and I imagine the Berry center can be a leader in connecting ecological and conservation science with society."
The $10 million gift from Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation for the University of Wyoming, of which Robert Berry is trustee, is the largest single cash gift in UW history.
Further, it will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the state of Wyoming. The university will use existing funds to demolish the power plant.
The Wolf Creek Charitable Foundation focuses on finding solutions to ecological problems and preserving environmentally significant habitat for wildlife by making grants to other non-profit environmentally oriented organizations. Previous donations to UW included the Robert B. Berry Distinguished Chair in Ecology and the Robert B. Berry Ecology Center within the Department of Zoology and Physiology.
"Bob and Carol Berry have been leaders in protecting Wyoming's wildlife, and this facility will further their conservation goals," says Oliver Walter, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "Bob's scientific knowledge and generosity have impressed us all. Many A&S faculty members in the departments of Botany and Zoology have worked with him over the past few years, particularly Greg Brown, professor of botany and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Craig Benkman, current holder of the Berry chair."
Benkman observes, "Bob and Carol, with the strong support of Tom Buchanan, are providing an exceptional opportunity for our university and state. Not only will this be a center for our faculty and students conducting research in ecology, biodiversity and conservation, but also a center for outreach and education."
"The Berry center will greatly enhance UW's effectiveness in educating students and the state about the rich plant, animal and fungal diversity of Wyoming," says Brown. "This is a fantastic opportunity for UW to significantly enhance its strengths in the life sciences area of distinction."
Photo
Center Plans -- University of Wyoming faculty members Greg Brown, left, and Craig Benkman examine an artist's conception of the planned Robert and Carol Berry Center for Natural History and Conservation. Brown, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, and Benkman, who holds the Berry Distinguished Chair in Ecology, attended a Tuesday news conference to announce the $10 million gift to create the new center. (UW Photo)
Posted on Tuesday, February 06, 2007
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