Major Gifts
Private support has been a cornerstone of the Laboratory's research program for many years, but it is particularly important for special projects like building construction and renovations or the creation of graduate school. Government grants for such initiatives, regardless of their worthiness, are scarce.
The initial campaign to endow the Watson School of Biological Sciences was quite successful. Contributions received in 1998 included $5,068,568 from a donor who wishes to remain anonymous, $885,000 from Mr. and Mrs. Leslie C. Quick, Jr., and $548,748 from Mr. and Mrs. David L. Luke III. The William Stamps Farish Foundation gave $350,000 and the Seraph Foundation gave $50,000. Additional gifts came in after the new year, and the public phase of the capital campaign will begin in April 1999.
The Nancy and Edwin Marks Building will house our new brain imaging program and allow for expansion of the Laboratory's strong neuroscience program, including creating space for more teaching labs. This project has also received substantial support. The Marks Family Foundation gave $1,261,531; the Booth Ferris Foundation gave $100,000; The Weezie Foundation donated $100,000; the Estate of Sophie Rubenfield gave $57,731; the Fairchild Martindale Foundation gave $50,000; and Mary D. Lindsay made a gift of $50,000. We have added previous gifts from Thomas Saunders and David Koch to this project.
In support of neuroscience research, the Lita Annenberg Hazen Foundation gave $200,000 to the Lita Annenberg Hazen Fund for Neurobiology, and Mr. and Mrs. William L. Matheson gave an additional $50,220 in support of their previous gifts that established the Matheson Fund for Neuroscience. The Seraph Foundation gave $27,000 for neuroscience research in Grisha Enikolopov's lab, as well as $23,000 for cancer research in Yuri Lazebnik's lab.
Support from breast cancer advocacy groups has continued to be quite helpful to our cancer research program. In 1998, Mike Wigler's lab received a $300,000 grant from The Lillian Goldman Charitable Trust through the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and our long-time supporter, 1 in 9: the Long Island Breast Cancer Action Coalition, donated $100,000 to the Michael Scott Barish Human Cancer Fund. Both donations, along with $25,000 from the Huntington Breast Cancer Action Coalition and $4,600 from the Long Island Foundation for the Elimination of Breast Cancer, will be applied to the development of the DNA microarray facility.
The renovation of the old Power House and Carpentry Shed, to make room for the Laboratory's growing Public Affairs, Development, and Human Resources departments, was subsidized in part by a $200,000 gift from the William and Maude Pritchard Charitable Trust and a $200,000 gift from the Estate of Vernon L. Merrill. The Development conference room will be named for Mrs. Merrill, and the building will be named in honor of former Chairman of the Board of Trustees, and now Honorary Trustee, David L. Luke III and his wife Fanny.
The Stone Foundation gave $60,000 in support of the Mary D. Lindsay Child Care Center; the Gladys Brooks Foundation donated $57,000 for the purchase of microfilm equipment for the Library; and the Joseph G. Goldring Foundation continued support to Bruce Stillman's laboratory through a gift of $50,000 for two postdoctoral fellows. In addition, Alan and Edith Seligson once again gave $35,000 in support of one postdoctoral researcher, as they have since 1990. The Goldring support went to Kate Simpson and Bill Henry and the Seligson fellowship supported Howard Fearnhead in his final year as a postdoc.