The Foundation provided operating funds over a 10-year period for the Center for Environmental Research and Conservation (CERC), a partnership of Columbia University, the American Museum of Natural History, Wildlife Conservation Society, The New York Botanical Garden, and Wildlife Trust, Inc. This center supports education opportunities for undergraduates, mid-career training for professionals in the conservation field, collaborative research activities of the institutions, and the creation of the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology (E3B) at Columbia, the first new academic department at the university in over 30 years.

CERC has grown from a handful of people to more than 70 scientists serving some 300 students and trainees annually from the U.S. and around the world. CERC has established degree programs for bachelor's, master's and doctoral students, and non-degree training programs for mid-career professionals, secondary school science teachers, high school students, undergraduate students and international environmental leaders.

Multi-disciplinary teams of natural and social scientists from CERC institutions have launched research on such pressing issues as ecological fragmentation and species extinction. Through its collaborative efforts, CERC is training a growing number of people with a unique and diverse curriculum. This will reap benefits for our global environment in the years to come.

For more information visit: www.cerc.columbia.edu