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Places, spaces and organizations

Every place needs a name

From the buildings on campus that serve as the physical centers of our students' academic experience to the research groups and labs that make an impact around the world, the places, spaces and organizations in the College of Science serve as the foundation for academic prowess and growth. The donors who choose to name these pillars of college life help build that foundation even stronger.

Give your name

"I hope my Great Aunt Betty's plaque is a witness to the future."

Places large and small, when given a name, can have an immeasurable impact.

When the Davidson Mathematics and Science Center was being constructed, Interim Dean Katherine McCall chose to make a financial contribution to the building and named a hallway after her great aunt, Elizabeth Racao Durfee. She hopes her Great Aunt Betty's story will serve as an inspiration for the women pursuing degrees in STEM.

Everything has its place, and every place has a name.

Named endowments are a way for a donor to support often very personal interests. Someone might choose to support research they believe will change the world. Or maybe a donor wants to provide sustained funding for cutting-edge research instrumentation. A donor might choose to name a museum or a particular exhibit of interest. The possibilities for tailoring a unique giving plan are endless. Below are just a few examples of ways donors have chosen to use their names.

Vials for a chemical ecology research project filled with plant matter.

Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology

Biochemist and developer of life-saving anti-viral drugs Mick Hitchcock named the Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology for international collaboration to re-synthesize, reinvigorate and advance chemical ecology by integrating technical and conceptual advances from multiple fields. Learn more about this unique program in the Great Basin.

Davidson Mathematics and Science Center

Davidson Mathematics & Science Center

The Davidson Mathematics and Science Center provides an integrated and centralized 21st-century environment for learning and research and serves 80% of the University's total student population who take core classes taught in the building. It includes the 464-seat Nell. J. Redfield Foundation Auditorium, 27 laboratories, modern audiovisual equipment throughout classrooms and more.

Crystals of copper and nickel oxides captured by the SEM microscope

Mackay Microbeam Laboratory

Bill Wilson, one of the pioneers of ÁùºÏ±¦µä’s ongoing gold boom, generously gave back to ÁùºÏ±¦µä with a $750,000 gift through his Wilson Family Foundation to establish a new Microbeam Laboratory in the Mackay School of Earth Sciences and Engineering name. Established in 2015, the lab has two state-of-the-art JEOL scanning electron microscopes (SEM), a field emission SEM and an easy-to-use portable tungsten-filament SEM.

View images taken by the Mackay Microbeam Lab
Schulich Certificate Collection collage

Schulich Historic Certificate Exhibit

The Schulich Historic Certificate Collection, provided by prominent University donor Seymour Schulich, is an amazing assortment of 87 stock certificates from the nineteenth and twentieth century made available to history buffs and researchers alike. One of the more noteworthy features of the exhibit is a stock certificate from famous entertainer Buffalo Bill Cody encased within an augmented reality system called a Collider Case that guides visitors through a digital, interactive exploration of the document. The entire collection has been digitized and is available in a virtual museum space.

The Museum of Natural History is in need of a name

"Having a donor on board — it would truly be a partner in solidifying this collection and keeping it safe forever."

Beth Leger, Foundation Professor and Director of the Museum of Natural History

Learn more about the Museum of Natural History

We need your name here.

Leigh Fitzpatrick headshot

Our development team is available to discuss all the ways named endowments help us meet our goals and to provide guidance to individuals interested in gifting a name.

Leigh Fitzpatrick
(775) 682-8791 | lfitzpatrick@unr.edu

Give your name

More ways your name can have an impact

Explore the value of named faculty positions
Discover the impact of named scholarships and awards
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