A New Era Begins...

	Fall/Winter 99

A New Era Begins with the Inception of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA Institute of Archaeology gets a new name to honor Lloyd E. Cotsen’s magnanimity and to celebrate the future his generous support makes possible Lloyd E. Cotsen with the logo of the Institute that now bears his name.>>
	On October 20th in the amphitheater of the Fowler Museum, the Institute of Archaeology and members of its UCLA family acknowledged and honored Lloyd E. Cotsen for his longtime support—as well as for his gift of $7 million—by changing its name to the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA. According to Richard M. Leventhal, Director of the newly renamed Institute, Cotsen’s gift will “completely transform the study of archaeology at UCLA.”
How long will this [gift] be in place? The answer, to the best approximation of our knowledge, is forever. How many students will it affect? Uncountable generations. How many faculty will benefit from this? Uncountable. As long as UCLA is here, this Institute will be here. - Albert Carnesale	One of the largest donations ever received by a university archaeology program, the Cotsen gift is the largest gift ever received by a social science program at UCLA. As an endowment, the funds provide a secure base for the Institute’s many activities. As Chancellor Albert Carnesale said, the nature of the gift as an endowment makes it particularly special: “How long will this [gift] be in place? The answer to the best approximation of our knowledge is forever. How many students will it affect? Uncountable generations. How many faculty will benefit from this? Uncountable. As long as UCLA is here, this Institute will be here. ”In speaking about his gift, Cotsen said, “This Institute and its leadership are the vehicles that will carry on a vision of archaeology’s future through the intellectual pursuit of knowledge and adventure.” Speaking for the faculty and students, Sarah Morris, Chair of the Classics Department, lauded Cotsen’s “keen interest in the ethnic arts of many world cultures and of the traditions of many living peoples” and noted that it is “appropriate that the Institute will now bear his name at a time when indigenous traditions have become so vital to understanding the past.” “Strengthened in the pursuit of archaeology throughout UCLA,” Morris also said, “we are proud to have what he has already done for us made visible and permanent in our new name.” Brian P. Copenhaver, Provost of the College of Letters and Science, also saluted Cotsen’s vision by quoting from the beginning of Homer’s Odyssey, “Tell me, O muse, of the man of many ways who was sent far journeys.”
Lloyd E. Cotsen’s vision for the Institute gives UCLA a powerful new tool for interdisciplinary collaboration. The Institute will support and coordinate the work of faculty and students from the full spectrum of departments interested in archaeology. - Brian P. Copenhaver	Like Odysseus, Copenhaver noted, Cotsen is “a man of epic character” with “passion, experience, generosity, intelligence, wisdom, forethought, and vision....Because of Lloyd E. Cotsen’s vision, the Cotsen Institute will have epic characteristics.” The Cotsen pledge provides funding for unrestricted projects and specific programs in the Institute’s principal missions of archaeological research, graduate training, and public outreach programs. The Cotsen Institute coordinates individual faculty research and interdisciplinary study in departments across the social sciences and the humanities, including anthropology, languages, classics, geography, history, and philosophy. “Lloyd E. Cotsen’s vision for the Institute gives UCLA a powerful new tool for interdisciplinary collaboration,” Copenhaver also said. “The Institute will support and coordinate the work of faculty and students from the full spectrum of departments interested in archaeology.”
We are proud to have what he has already done for us made visible and permanent in our new name. - Sarah Morris	“UCLA’s archaeology program has been among the most productive and respected in the field since the Institute was founded in 1973,” said Leventhal, “but the Cotsen gift will recast the Institute into an organization with the scope and impact that few other archaeology programs can offer. The Cotsen gift allows us to expand our cutting–edge research, develop new techniques for fieldwork, and create innovative methods of making archaeological research available to the public. We will continue to attract the best faculty and best students, develop top research, and publish major archaeological studies, but now at a level among the best in this academic discipline.”
The Cotsen gift will recast the Institute into an organization with the scope and impact that few other archaeology programs can offer. The Cotsen gift allows us to expand our cutting–edge research, develop new techniques for fieldwork, and create innovative methods of making archaeological research available to the public. We will continue to attract the best faculty and best students, develop top research, and publish major archaeological studies, but now at a level among the best in this academic discipline. - Richard M. Leventhal	The Lloyd E. Cotsen Directorship An endowed directorship for the Institute will be used primarily for discretionary funding for projects chosen by the director. “Creating such a large pool of unrestricted funds is extremely unusual in endowing archaeology programs, and is extremely forward–thinking,” said Leventhal. “The Lloyd E. Cotsen Director’s endowment will help us create new and exciting programs in perpetuity—including projects in our field that have yet to be imagined.” Designated Funding Support The Cotsen Gift also provides funding for designated projects in eight areas of teaching, outreach, and research: Field Research Grants. Research grants under the Cotsen gift will fund not only field research for large-scale projects but also the preliminary work required to develop long-range support for field work—the vital first step in initiating important, large-scale archaeological projects throughout the world. Publications. The Cotsen Institute, already a major publisher of basic archaeological research field data and interpretations, will now produce an even broader range of archaeological monographs. The endowment will also ensure that research papers can be sold at reasonable prices, providing students, international scholars, and libraries continued access to this important information. Research Laboratories. The endowment will substantially improve the Institute’s technical laboratories to provide upgraded study of the ancient material record. Advanced Research Seminars. The research seminar series funded by the Cotsen gift will allow the Institute to conduct annual research seminars and conferences for top scholars to help identify and focus on new research questions and to set the agenda for the future of archaeology. Publication of Advanced Research Seminars. The endowment will guarantee the publication of the papers and results of the Cotsen Advanced Seminars. Graduate Student Fellowships. This endowment for graduate fellowships will enable UCLA to attract the best graduate students who are training for academic careers in archaeology. Graduate Student Fellowships. This endowment for graduate fellowships will enable UCLA to attract the best graduate students who are training for academic careers in archaeology. Public Lectures. This endowment secures funding for the continuation and improvement of the public lecture program. Visiting Scholars Program. The endowment will support an annual scholar who will do research in the Cotsen Institute, participate in the Institute’s programs, and teach a graduate seminar.
	Lloyd E. Cotsen Former President and CEO of Neutrogena Corporation, Lloyd E. Cotsen has been associated with UCLA for more than thirty years as a volunteer and donor and maintains a special interest in archaeology. Cotsen has been an advisor and supporter of the Institute of Archaeology since 1980 and has served on the Institute’s Advisory Council. His previous financial support to archaeology includes the creation of a visiting scholar’s fund, an advanced seminar series, and the Jo Anne Stolaroff Cotsen Prize Imprint for excellence in archaeological publications. A graduate of Princeton, Cotsen conducted graduate studies in archaeology and was a fellow of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens. He was an archaeological field architect on excavations in Lerna, Pylos and Kea, Greece. He then entered Harvard, receiving an MBA. Joining Natone (later Neutrogena), he was first responsible for marketing, then manufacturing, eventually becoming, over the years, president, CEO, and finally chairman of the board. After he sold Neutrogena in 1994, he started Cotsen Management Corporation. He is a premier collector of worldwide folk art; his collection of Japanese bamboo baskets has been exhibited around the globe. The Neutrogena Wing/Cotsen Gallery at the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico, includes more than three thousand art objects and folk art.
	Backdirt is the biannual newsletter of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA.
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