ACE Group Supports Bren School Student Research

The Bren School has received a $25,000 contribution from the ACE Group to support master’s students’ research. The gift from ACE, one of the world’s leading global commercial property and casualty insurance and reinsurance organizations, establishes the ACE Group Project Fund to support Bren School Group Projects.

“ACE's commitment to addressing the serious issue of climate change includes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from our global operations, focusing our philanthropic support on environmental causes, and developing insurance products and services that help companies mitigate their environmental risks,” said Robert McCarty, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer of ACE USA’s Western Region. “We’re pleased to partner with the Bren School to pursue our mutual goals of fostering real-world research in the environmental arena.”

When possible, the ACE Group Project Fund will be used to support Group Projects that promote a healthy and sustainable environment and further reforestation projects and the conservation of land, water, and wildlife in the regions of interest to ACE Group. It will also support projects that contribute to initiatives intended to guide environmentally related risk- management decisions for the insurance industry. (more)

Environ Foundation Support for Group Projects

The Bren School has been awarded a grant from The ENVIRON Foundation in the amount of $25,000 to support Group Projects. The ENVIRON Foundation was established to provide financial assistance to endeavors that benefit the environment. ENVIRON is an international consultancy that works at the intersection of science, business, and policy to help clients resolve their most demanding environmental and human health issues.

Funds from the ENVIRON Foundation grant will support Group Projects that address the protection of human health and the sustainability of the global environment, particularly as they relate to the impact of chemicals and the use of Earth’s natural resources. Projects may also be included that address the impacts of chemicals and nanotechnology on the environment and human health.

“The ENVIRON Foundation is particularly interested in supporting programs that will help inform the publicpolicy dialogue with sound science,” says Dr. George Linkletter, immediate past chair of the ENVIRON Foundation Committee. “The committee was therefore particularly interested in the emphasis that the Bren School Group Projects place on solving often technically complex environmental problems within the larger real-world context of identified societal needs and challenges.”

Bren School Honors Deckers Outdoor Corporation for $1 Million Endowment to Support Graduate Student Fellowships

The Bren School has received gifts of more than $1 million from Deckers Outdoor Corporation and an anonymous UC Santa Barbara alumnus to support graduate students and programs at the Bren School in perpetuity. These gifts further the School’s efforts to attract the most talented students from around the nation and the world, and support them in reaching their academic goals.

As a reflection of the Bren School’s gratitude, the second-floor patio at Bren Hall has officially been named the Deckers Outdoor Corporation Terrace, and the endowment fund for graduate student support forever carries the Deckers name. (Read more.)