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.”