Brooks endowment to support Cooperative Wetlands Center
August 1, 2005
This year Dr. Robert P. Brooks, professor of geography and ecology, will reach the 25-year milestone as a faculty member at Penn State. To celebrate that event, Robert and Rebecca Brooks of State College, Pennsylvania have recently established the "Robert P. and Rebecca P. Brooks Endowment for the Cooperative Wetlands Center." The endowment will help promote and support the mission of the Cooperative Wetlands Center (CWC), by funding future graduate and undergraduate students who are conducting research through the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center (CWC).
"Becky and I are deeply committed to providing the best possible educational, research, and outreach opportunities for future graduate and undergraduate students who choose to work with the Penn State Cooperative Wetlands Center," says Dr. Robert P. Brooks. "We hope that by initiating this endowment now, substantial funding can accumulate over time to support the students' efforts to understand wetland science and ecology, and to conserve these critically important aquatic ecosystems."
Dr. Brooks founded the CWC in 1993 to enhance studies of wetland communities and facilitate greater opportunities for training students. His primary goal in founding the Cooperative Wetlands Center was to create an environment to encourage dialogue and facilitate interaction among governmental (federal, state, and local) agencies responsible for managing wetlands, private industry involved in resource extraction or related consulting, and University scientists and students.
Dr. Brooks and Mrs. Brooks have pledged at least $15,000 toward the $25,000 goal, with additional gifts and pledges anticipated from alumni, friends, and colleagues of Dr. Robert P. Brooks in honor of Dr. Brooks' years of service to the interdisciplinary research and conservation of wetlands, wildlife, and other aquatic resources. Additional contributions may be made by interested persons or organizations within the next five years.
If you are interested in making a financial contribution to support the establishment of the endowment, please contact Jennifer Theiss at 814-863-2289 or jaw34@psu.edu.