Among the many significant gifts the Wayne and Gladys Valley Foundation has made to Oregon State University was a 1991 challenge grant to establish the Marine Mammal Research Professorship. This gift gave OSU researchers a vital source of financial stability for their groundbreaking work with whales, dolphins, seals, and other marine mammals. Funds raised by the endowment support graduate fellowships, research equipment expenditures, staffing costs, and more.

The Valley Foundation grant originally took the form of an outright gift of $200,000 to make funds immediately available, plus a $1.6 million challenge grant, pledging to give $1 for every $2 given by other donors through December 31, 2000. Many of these additional contributors had participated in one of Professor Bruce Mate's naturalist trips, gaining a first-hand appreciation for whales and their habitat.

Current Faculty Holder

Lisa T. Ballance