Muhlenberg College Receives Major Gift For Acopian Center For Ornithology
Muhlenberg College has received a generous gift from Mr. Sarkis Acopian to support major renovations to the John V. Shankweiler Biology Building and the newly created Acopian Center for Ornithology.Wednesday, March 1, 2006 01:59 PM
The College’s new science center will open in the fall of 2006. At that point, the Shankweiler Building will be closed as it undergoes significant renovations. The Acopian Center for Ornithology will be housed on the top floor of the Shankweiler Building, which will re-open in the spring of 2007.
The new science center and the Shankweiler renovations are part of the College’s Strategic Plan.
“The Acopian family has a longstanding commitment to conservation and the sciences,” says Muhlenberg College President Dr. Peyton R. Helm. “This exciting gift will enable us to provide office space, a research laboratory, classrooms and ecology facilities, including a greenhouse. It will also house an ornithological museum collection. It further strengthens our long-standing tradition of excellence in the sciences.”
The Acopian family previously supported an endowed chair, the Acopian Professor of Ornithology and Conservation, which is currently held by Dr. Daniel Klem, Jr. The Acopian Center for Ornithology will ensure that Dr. Klem’s work with birds, conservation and the environment will continue to yield results and receive national and international recognition.
