Archaeology institute receives $10 million
The Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA has much to look forward to in 2007 after receiving a hefty donation last December.
Lloyd Cotsen, who has sponsored archaeology on campus for decades, gave the institute $10 million, one of the largest endowments worldwide in the archeological field.
The institute can conduct more research, recruit more top scholars, publish more monographs, and acknowledge competent archeologists, according to a press release.
Previously in 1999, Cotsen donated $7 million to UCLA’s Archaeology Institute, which was honorably renamed after him. The two gifts combined make Cotsen the greatest individual donor ever in the UCLA College’s history.
“How can we be anything else but delighted and honored that he thinks so highly of us?” said Helle Girey, director of public programs in the institute. “The donation will change the picture of the Cotsen Institute.”
Cotsen said in a statement that he still remains passionate about archaeology to this day after participating in excavations in Greece for over 20 seasons. He is currently the president of Cotsen Management Corporation and was the former president and CEO of Neutrogena Corporation.
Cotsen has sponsored archaeology at UCLA for decades and has served as supporter and adviser of the Cotsen Institute since 1980.
“I think UCLA has the elements – vision and leadership – to take a strategic leadership position in the field of archaeology,” Cotsen said. “You need a visionary, some smart people and some funds in that order.”
With 35 affiliated UCLA faculty members and over 40 research associates, the Cotsen Institute conducts interdisciplinary research around the globe.
Anthropology Professor Charles Stanish, director of the institute, said researchers are doing fieldwork in India, China, Greece, Africa, Peru, Mexico and Iceland.
First established in 1973, the Cotsen Institute aims to advance the interdisciplinary study of human history, according to its Web site. Its location can be found on the lower level of the UCLA Fowler Museum and contains research labs, teaching labs, classrooms, offices and technical labs.
The institute holds public lectures and seminars by worldwide scholars to present new discoveries. Every year, it offers a free series of about 12 lectures and seminars.
Some of its other initiatives include publications, fieldwork grants to its members, and an interdisciplinary graduate degree program that trains archeologists.
In terms of the fund distribution, Stanish said the money will mainly be used to support graduate students, put toward research, and for publications.
The $10 million will be divided to sponsor several programs. Of it, $2 million will go toward graduate students, $2 million for faculty recruitment and retention, $1 million for first-rate archeological publications, $2 million for opportunity funds, $1 million for undergraduate student support, and $1 million for research.
The final $1 million will be appointed for the Lloyd Cotsen Prize, which is awarded to an archeological team of graduate students and scholars from all over the globe.
Girey said that thanks to Cotsen’s contributions, UCLA’s standing in the archeological sphere has risen substantially.
“The initial donation took us from a small unit to a nationally recognized unit,” Stanish said. “The second donation put us in the absolute top tier of archeological institutes in the world.”
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