November 10, 1994 Contact: Robert Irion (408/459-2495)

FUTURE EDUCATION CENTER AT LONG MARINE LAB RECEIVES $300,000 BOOST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Planners at the Joseph M. Long Marine Laboratory of the University of California, Santa Cruz, have moved $300,000 closer to their goal of a new Visitor Education Center, with the receipt of a $200,000 grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation of Los Altos and a $100,000 unitrust established by Paul and Anne Irwin of Watsonville.

To date, donors and foundations have committed about $2 million to the center, which will improve the lab's education programs for schoolchildren and the general public. The 12,000- square-foot facility will cost about $4.4 million for construction and exhibitions. Aside from $500,000 in state money for a teaching lab in part of the complex, private support will provide most funds.

"We are encouraged that our supporters continue to recognize the value of investing in the excellent education programs at Long Marine Laboratory," says Daniel Aldrich, assistant chancellor for University Advancement at UCSC. "The lab already plays a key role in informing the public about the importance of understanding the marine environment. The Visitor Education Center will dramatically enhance that role."

The Packard Foundation is a driving force behind the burgeoning education and research programs in the area, with its financing of the Monterey Bay Aquarium and its affiliated research institute. The foundation was created in 1964 to support and encourage organizations that depend on private funding and volunteer leadership. It makes grants for programs in the arts, community, marine biology, environment, population, education, and children's health.

Paul Irwin recently joined the Board of Trustees of the UC Santa Cruz Foundation, a nonprofit, public benefit corporation that promotes understanding and support of campus programs. Irwin is a retired senior executive of the McCormick Company. Both he and his wife Anne are excited by the development of Long Marine Lab, says Aldrich, and wished to help realize the new center. The unitrust is a deferred gift that permits UCSC to invest the funds on behalf of the Irwins.

The Visitor Education Center is one part of extensive growth planned for the next several years at Long Marine Lab. Other new buildings will include headquarters for the Branch of Pacific Marine Geology of the U.S. Geological Survey, labs for the National Marine Fisheries Service, and a California Department of Fish and Game facility to rescue and rehabilitate oiled wildlife.

Press Releases Home | Search Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Services for Journalists

Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu