The Anheuser-Busch Foundation has pledged $5 million in matching funds to support construction of a new 16,000-square-foot food science laboratory building in the developing Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science.
The Anheuser-Busch Brewing and Food Science Laboratory will include a 1.5-barrel brewery, a food-processing facility, and teaching and research laboratories.
The gift was announced by Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef July 31 at a press conference outside Cruess Hall. John Serbia, vice-president of brewing for Anheuser-Busch and a UC Davis alumnus, represented the company. Neal Van Alfen, dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences; Charles Shoemaker, chair of the food science department; Charles Bamforth, brewing science professor; and Michael Lewis, brewing science professor emeritus, were also on hand.
"We're very excited about the possibilities that will come from investing in keeping UC Davis on the forefront of teaching and research," Serbia said.
The gift, provided by the philanthropic arm of the world's largest brewing company, equips UC Davis to raise the additional funds needed to complete the laboratory building.
"This generous pledge from the Anheuser-Busch Foundation is a cornerstone in the development of the Robert Mondavi Institute," said Van Alfen. "It will allow our campus to take its teaching and research programs in the food sciences to the next level of excellence and is especially meaningful because so many UC Davis alumni have gone on to join Anheuser-Busch."
The planned food science facility will be one of three buildings to be constructed as part of the Mondavi Institute. It will be located on Old Davis Road near the Interstate 80 entrance to UC Davis.
Slated for completion in 2006, the laboratory building will help replace the food science and technology department's pilot complex, which includes a food-processing facility, brewery and teaching laboratories.
Following the announcement, guests and media toured the existing facilities including the current, old brewery and new brewing equipment, also donated by Anheuser-Busch.
"This (equipment) gives students an opportunity to see what it's really like, to get their hands dirty, to really get involved in the brewing process," Bamforth said.
UC Davis has a long and distinguished history in the area of the food and beverage sciences. Its Department of Food Science and Technology is one of the leading food science programs in the nation and offers the only doctoral degree in this field in California.
The department's brewing science program is the only such accredited four-year program offered by a major U.S. university.
The Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science was established last fall with a gift from winemaker Robert Mondavi. The institute will bring together students and faculty members studying in fields related to the wine and food sciences, and will provide cutting-edge facilities for teaching and research in these areas.
The institute also will include an academic building with 75,000 square feet of teaching and research laboratories, offices and meeting rooms. The third building in the institute complex will be a 46,000-square-foot teaching and research winery.
"I wish I was 20 again so I could start all over at this college," Lewis, the emeritus professor, said.
Andy Fell also contributed to this report.