SANTA CRUZ — UC Santa Cruz will double the impact of new gifts to the campus’s Seymour Marine Discovery Center through a matching gift program. The “Chancellor’s Challenge” program will match (on a dollar-for-dollar basis) any new gift or increased levels of giving to the Seymour Center in 2013, up to a maximum of $200,000.
“Since it opened in 2000, the Seymour Center has been an exciting and vibrant place for the public to learn about the oceans and marine science,” said UCSC Chancellor George Blumenthal. “From fisheries to climate change, ocean issues affect us all, and the Seymour Center is helping to grow the next generation of researchers and practitionersto take on those challenges.”
Located at UCSC’s Long Marine Laboratory, the Seymour Center operates on a largely self‐supporting basis through user fees, such as admissions and gift shop sales; fundraising efforts from auctions to memorial gifts; and the payout from a small endowment. Each year, the center must raise its operating budget, including all salaries and benefits.
Funds raised through the Chancellor’s Challenge will help sustain and ensure strong ocean science programs for elementary through university students, as well as the general public. If total giving (excluding the campus match) exceeds $750,000 in 2013, the campus will also provide an additional $100,000. The matching funds are made possible by unrestricted gifts from private donors to the campus.
The Seymour Marine Discovery Center attracts more than 65,000 visitors every year, offering hands-on immersion into the world of ocean exploration, discovery, and conservation. Visitors can touch a shark, explore the latest discoveries in ocean science, and take in the spectacular Monterey Bay, called the “Serengeti of the sea” for its incredible diversity of marine life. The center’s exhibits and activities bring the adventures and explorations of marine science to life, educating people about the role scientific research plays in the understanding and conservation of the world’s oceans.
Open to the public seven days a week in the summer, and six days a week the rest of the year, the Seymour Marine Discovery Center is located at the end of Delaware Avenue in Santa Cruz. For more information, please contact the Seymour Center at (831) 459-3800 or visit the web site at seymourcenter.ucsc.edu.