Passionate about supporting biodiversity conservation, Jeff and Laurie Ubben made a $5 million gift to Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and a companion gift of $20 million to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), in support of wildlife conservation programs at WWF and environmental research and education at Duke. $500,000 of the Nicholas School fund was matched through Bass Connections to support year-long project teams led by Nicholas School faculty focused on biodiversity conservation.
Since 2018-2019, this fund has supported 26 projects addressing a range of conservation issues from using drones to monitor and evaluate the health of coastal ecosystems, to analyzing the role that African forest elephants play in forecasting ecological changes resulting from reduction of elephant populations, to developing new microorganisms to convert plastic waste into biodegradable products, to assessing the impact of climate change on marine ecosystems by tracking Beluga whales. While making important contributions to biodiversity conservation research, these teams are also preparing and inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders, reaching more than 95 graduate students and 150 undergraduate students over six years.
In 2023-2024, this initiative is supporting four Bass Connections project teams:
- Marine Conservation Evidence & Synthesis
- Belugas: Sentinels of Climate Change in the Arctic
- Biocultural Sustainability in Madagascar
- Innovations in Research Technology to Assess Forest Wildlife
Jeff and Laurie Ubben are both alumni of Duke, and Jeff is a member of Duke’s Board of Trustees.
Additional Information
Image: Forest elephant family group in a rainforest clearing, by Richard Ruggiero/USFWS