DES MOINES, IOWA — Officials from Great Ape Trust of Iowa and Iowa State University today signed a memorandum of agreement to establish the world’s pre-eminent collaboration for primate studies.

Great Ape Trust founder Ted Townsend and ISU President Dr. Gregory L. Geoffroy signed the agreement in a formal ceremony in the bonobo scientific research center on The Trust’s 230-acre campus in southeast Des Moines. The agreement, based on the shared scientific and ethical values of primate research, recognizes multiple benefits to both institutions.

"Iowa State University is one of the finest research institutions in the world, and our agreement to create the pre-eminent collaboration for primate studies solidifies Great Ape Trust for the long-term," Townsend said. "This partnership for profound science adds a unique and powerful distinction to our state."

Geoffroy said Great Ape Trust is an educational and research resource offering "tremendous opportunities for our faculty and students and the university as a whole."

"Together, The Trust and Iowa State make a great team in the study of primates and the environment that we share with them," he said.

The Iowa State president also credited Townsend for "diligence and perseverance" in carving out a special distinction that will help move Iowa forward and provide unique educational opportunities.

"Iowa is very fortunate to have some truly visionary people, people who think way outside the box about ways to move Iowa forward, provide educational opportunities and enhance our quality of life," Geoffroy said. "One of those visionary people is Ted Townsend, and it’s wonderful to be here at Great Ape Trust, one of his most ambitious and most successful dreams. Today, Great Ape Trust is a truly unique and special educational and research resource — indeed, a jewel for Iowa."

The agreement sets the stage for Great Ape Trust to take a more active role in the development of future scientists by providing them valuable laboratory and field experiences, and through the development of an interdisciplinary graduate program in primatology at the masters and doctorate levels. The partnership increases opportunities for Iowa State students to collaborate with Great Ape Trust on the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence, The Trust’s primary area of scientific inquiry, and to apply that knowledge to humanity and all animals. Both institutions recognize the moral imperatives for conservation of biodiversity and to protect all species, especially endangered great apes, whether in their natural environment or in captivity.

Iowa State University faculty and students have worked closely with Great Ape Trust since the world-class scientific research center in southeast Des Moines opened in 2004. Two Great Ape Trust scientists serve as affiliate professors in Iowa State’s Department of Anthropology, as well as on the graduate committees of several Iowa State master’s and doctorate degree candidates working at Great Ape Trust. Additionally, Great Ape Trust funded scholarships for two international students working part-time at The Trust while they pursue graduate studies at Iowa State.

This summer, Great Ape Trust contributed $71,000 to support internationally recognized primatologist Dr. Jill Pruetz’s field site in Senegal, Africa. Pruetz, an assistant professor of anthropology at Iowa State, recently co-published important scientific findings indicating that savannah chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) from the Fongoli, Senegal, field site regularly made and used spear-like tools to hunt other primates without human assistance. The study was the first to report habitual tool use by non-humans while hunting other vertebrates.

Contact Info:

Al Setka
Director of Communications
Great Ape Trust of Iowa
Tel : 515.243.3580 ext. 190
E-mail: asetka@greatapetrust.org

Website : Great Ape Trust of Iowa