Juneau hatchery funds $1 million endowment for fisheries students
September 16, 2014
907-474-7208
9/16/2014
Juneau hatchery Douglas Island Pink and Chum is giving more than $1 million to the University of Alaska Fairbanks for an endowment in memory of hatchery founder Ladd E. Macaulay. The endowment earnings will fund a fellowship for fisheries graduate students at the UAF School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Juneau Center.
“This gift is a wonderful highlight in the long-standing relationship that we’ve had with DIPAC,” said Michael Castellini, dean of the school. “Their dedication to supporting students speaks highly of how much they value the university, for both our educational and research components.”
When combined with the gift DIPAC gave the school last year, the hatchery’s donation totals $1.25 million. The endowment supports three years of funding for the first student recipient, and earnings are expected to support future graduate students.
“Ladd Macaulay was an enthusiastic partner with the university and the research we did,” said William Smoker, UAF professor emeritus and former SFOS fisheries division director, who worked closely with Macaulay for decades. “He actively pushed us to establish that partnership, he saw the wisdom of it from the outset.”
Macaulay moved to Juneau as a teenager in 1956 and graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School. He worked as a biology teacher before founding the hatchery in the 1970s. When constructing a new main facility in the 1990s, Macaulay ensured that the building included research and development laboratory space for the university to use.
“He pretty much challenged me to fill it and use it,” said Smoker, “It was an important contribution to our program because it gave us financial leverage to compete for additional funds in support of our research. It showed a significant in-kind contribution of floor space, utilities, water supply and things we wouldn’t otherwise have.”
Macaulay died in a car accident in 2000, but his commitment to education and fisheries research will be honored for years to come.
“The DIPAC board did well with this gift by not only extending Ladd’s legacy but also investing in the future of salmon fisheries conservation and sustainable utilization in Southeast Alaska,” said Alex Wertheimer, a member of the DIPAC board and the chair of its scholarship committee. “Ladd had tremendous dedication to both education and resource management, especially in terms of a relationship with the university to support research.”
Wertheimer described the first student recipient, Casey McConnell, as a perfect candidate for the fellowship.
“He is already in Alaska, already working on issues for Alaska salmon,” Werthemier said of McConnell, who is working for Alaska Department of Fish and Game while pursuing his master’s degree.
The gift will be recognized at the Sept. 18 University of Alaska Board of Regents meeting in Juneau. A reception will be held Sept. 17 at the DIPAC Macaulay Hatchery to honor DIPAC for its gift.
NOTE TO EDITORS: The reception begins at 6 p.m. and will include the check presentation. Media are invited to the reception and key guests, including members of the DIPAC board and UAF Chancellor Brian Rogers, will be available for interviews.
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