UConn receives $3M for ecology and evolutionary biology research

The University of Connecticut (UConn) has received $3 million from an anonymous donor for the creation of two research positions within its College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

UConn donation biology — The new research chairs will named after the Shakespearean characters Titania and Prospero. Illustration by Bob Rozycki

The donation will fund UConn”™s research in ecology and evolutionary biology, and can be used can be used to either recruit scholars to the department or to support current faculty members.

Although the donor requested anonymity, the university acknowledged the individual was “a lifelong student of the Bard” and will name the new research chairs after the Shakespearean characters Titania and Prospero.

“This is completely unprecedented,” said Eric Schultz, professor in ecology and evolutionary biology. “No department in the university has been granted two endowed chairs simultaneously like this. It represents a substantial and absolutely incredible opportunity for us.”