Endowments and donations
The Antarctic Research Centre is grateful to our supporters for their generous endowments and donations.
The Antarctic Research Centre gratefully acknowledges the support of Lee Seng Tee for his endowment which supports the annual S.T. Lee Lecture in Antarctic Studies and the S.T. Lee Travel Award, as well as the development of the S.T. Lee Antarctic Reading Room, Alan Eggers, whose donation was for continuing climate change research, the Morgan Family Charitable Foundation for Antarctic climate research, and Arnold Heine's recent donation to support future generations of Antarctic researchers.
The Endowed Development Fund
The Antarctic Research Centre Development Fund comprises financial support through endowments and donations from alumni and friends, many of whom have expressed their support for the Centre in the past.
The Development Fund managed by the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation, with interest income used to fund scholarships and research, and the capital retained in perpetuity. The Endowed Development Fund supports the work of the Centre by providing funds for students to conduct research into the Antarctic, and for other emerging research opportunities.
S.T. Lee Lecture Series
The S.T. Lee Lecture Series in Antarctic Studies was established by a NZ$150,000 endowment from Singaporean philanthropist Lee Seng Tee.
The high-profile lecture series is designed to recognise and bolster the University's strong contribution to Antarctic research.
Dr Lee has established important lecture series at academic institutions throughout the world, including Oxford, Cambridge and Harvard, spanning topics in humanities, military history, public policy and government. The Wellington-based S.T. Lee Lecture in Antarctic Studies covers environment and scientific research in Antarctica and is the first Lee lecture series in the Southern Hemisphere.
Dr Lee's endowment, established through the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation, recognises the University's tradition of Antarctic research since 1957, and is an opportunity to showcase Antarctic research by world experts to the New Zealand community.
Dr Lee followed his first gift with a gift of NZ$150,000 to establish the S.T. Lee Library in Antarctic Research at the University.
S.T. Lee Travel Award
Since 2004, the S.T. Lee Travel Award provides funding for exchange visits between the Antarctic Research Centre (ARC) of Victoria University of Wellington and the International Arctic Research Center of the University of Alaska Fairbanks (IARC) for the purpose of promoting Arctic and Antarctic research.
These visits have been made possible through the endowment from the Lee Seng Tee Foundation and will cover travel and an allowance for a period of one to four weeks.
The Alan Eggers Fund
Victoria University of Wellington geology graduate, Alan Eggers, generously donated $1million to the Antarctic Research Centre to accelerate its research into past and future ice sheet behaviour in the face of global warming.
He said he was delighted to be able to "give something back" to the University for his time on the ice as a member of the University's 1975 Antarctic Expedition.
Mr Eggers noted increasing concern from both scientists and the community regarding the response of the Antarctic to climate change, and thought more funding was required in this area to better understand the impacts and possible outcomes of continued carbon emissions on climate. He said, "The Centre is recognised as a world leader in this field of research and both the Centre and its researchers are positioned to make a major contribution to our knowledge on climate change”.
The donation has been invested through the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation and will be used in three main areas:
- the Centre's Endowed Development Fund to support young Antarctic scientists
- the development of Antarctic drilling technology
- to enhance the ice and climate modelling capability of the Centre.
Arnold Heine Antarctic Research Award
New Zealand and Antarctic glaciologist, Arnold Heine, has generously donated to the Antarctic Research Centre to establish the Arnold Heine Antarctic Research Award to support future generations of Antarctic researchers.
In 2018, Arnold approached the Victoria University of Wellington Foundation to set-up an award to support University postgraduate students studying a topic related to the Antarctic region or glaciology in New Zealand. The award will be run in conjunction with the ARC Endowed Development fund with similar funding criteria but will allow postgraduate students with New Zealand glaciology research topics to apply.In 2018, Arnold approached the Foundation to set-up an award, now named the Arnold Heine Antarctic Research Award, to support University postgraduate students studying a topic related to the Antarctic region or glaciology in New Zealand. The award will be run in conjunction with the ARC Endowed Development fund with similar funding criteria but will allow postgraduate students with New Zealand glaciology research topics to apply.