Endowed Chairs for Marine Lab

A $3 million gift from the Oak Foundation will create two endowed professorships in marine conservation biology and marine affairs and policy at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, Duke President Nannerl O. Keohane announced March 12. Keohane said the gift will strengthen research and teaching at the Marine Lab, which is an arm of the Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, and "will provide wonderful support for our new strategic plan, which targets environmental solutions as one of Duke's major initiatives over the next five years." The plan, "Building on Excellence," was adopted by the university's Board of Trustees Feb. 23. "I thank the Oak Foundation most warmly for its foresight and generosity," Keohane said. The donation was made at the recommendation of Kristian Parker, an Oak Foundation board member who studied at the Marine Lab with Professor Dan Rittschof and received his doctorate in environmental sciences at Duke in 2000. Aware that the continued success of the Marine Lab required additional faculty, Parker enlisted support from his family foundation, which has an interest in protecting the marine environment. "Our gift is designed to give the Marine Lab the flexibility it needs to grow and to enrich marine science education and research," Parker said. The professorships are not restricted to a particular faculty rank and may be awarded by the Nicholas School dean to a full, associate or assistant professor. Under the gift agreement, the Oak Foundation will cover salary costs for the professorships immediately, so that it will not be necessary to wait until the endowment funds reach sufficient investment income to fill the positions. "This really is the perfect gift," said Norman L. Christensen Jr., dean of the Nicholas School. "Being able to move rapidly to attract and retain young faculty is critical to the school's success. This gift gives us the ability to seek the very best, regardless of faculty rank, and to offer a prestigious named chair with all the benefits that implies." The 15-acre Marine Laboratory campus, opened on Pivers Island in 1938, is a year-round facility used by scientists and educators throughout the world to study everything from endangered sea turtles to water quality. The lab offers educational and research opportunities for undergraduate, graduate and continuing education students. There currently are 11 faculty members on the Beaufort campus. The Oak Foundation is an international philanthropy with offices in Boston, Geneva, Switzerland, and Zimbabwe. It commits its resources to address issues of global social and environmental concern, particularly those that have a major impact on the lives of the disadvantaged.