UC Santa Cruz Chancellor George Blumenthal and other campus leaders joined officials from Wells Fargo Bank at UCSC's Coastal Science Campus to break ground for the Coastal Biology building on Wednesday, September 24. The Coastal Biology building will house the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (EEB) and will support research and teaching on coastal conservation, ecology, habitat restoration, climate change impacts, and policy.
"This is a great occasion for the campus," Blumenthal said. "We've been working for a long time to get this building built, and the partnership with Wells Fargo has been crucial for getting this done."
In addition to the groundbreaking ceremony for Coastal Biology, the event also marked the dedication of the Wells Fargo Coastal Science Research Center. In 1999, UC Santa Cruz purchased approximately 55 acres adjacent to Long Marine Laboratory from Wells Fargo Bank, including the developable area where the new Coastal Biology building will be constructed. This area, which may include additional buildings in the future, has been named the Wells Fargo Coastal Science Research Center.
The other 47 acres of land purchased in 1999 was added to the Younger Lagoon Natural Reserve, which now encompasses 72 acres set aside for preservation of sensitive habitat and environmental research, teaching, and restoration.
"The Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology has embraced field-based learning, and our Natural Reserves play an important role in supporting those field courses," said Gage Dayton, administrative director of the UCSC Natural Reserve System.
Pete Raimondi, professor and chair of EEB, said he was excited about reuniting his department in one building after 15 years during which half of their faculty have been located on campus and half at Long Marine Laboratory. He also noted the importance of field courses for students in marine biology and other EEB majors. A recent survey of former students revealed that immersion in field courses was a critical factor associated with greater success of students in graduate school and the job market, Raimondi said.
"Having seen how important field courses are to the success of our students, we need to make sure we have the capacity to offer those courses to all students, and the Coastal Biology building will help make that possible," he said.
Raimondi and the 30 students in his Marine Ecology Field Quarter course are about to spend several weeks at a research station in the Mediterranean Sea. Coincidentally, one of the students in that class is the daughter of Hope Hardison, executive vice president at Wells Fargo and one of the speakers at the groundbreaking event. Hardison is the daughter of Robert Adams, professor emeritus of economics and former dean of social sciences at UC Santa Cruz, who was also present.
"It's a special treat for me to be here today because of my personal ties to this area. It means a lot to me that Wells Fargo has played a role in making this possible," said Hardison, noting that her neighbors when she was growing up in Bonny Doon were Gary Griggs, director of the Institute of Marine Sciences, and the late Ken Norris, acclaimed marine mammal researcher and a former director of the campus's marine studies program.
Construction of the Coastal Biology building is scheduled to begin in November.
