News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 21, 2007

Contact:  Glenda Bogar or Marie Graf
216-231-4600,
800-317-9155,
ext. 3363 or 3270

EcoCity Cleveland to Merge with The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Museum will Create New Center for Regional Sustainability

Cleveland . . . EcoCity Cleveland’s Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to merge with The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. The Museum’s Board of Trustees also approved the alignment June 12. The merger will allow the Museum to create a Center for Regional Sustainability.

“This is the culmination of discussions between the two organizations that have occurred over the past year,” said Dr. Bruce Latimer, executive director of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. “Our boards recognized synergies among the two organizations and both seemed to be moving on similar paths. This is a positive step for both entities and a merger of opportunity.”

David Beach, executive director of EcoCity Cleveland said, “The alliance will enhance the work and missions of both organizations. It will align our resources and create a strong center to advance sustainability in Northeast Ohio.”

Both nationally respected organizations have a history of working together to promote the conservation and preservation of nature. For the past 15 years, EcoCity Cleveland has promoted the design of ecological cities and regions to help people live in balance with nature.

“The timing of the alignment is ideal,” explained Latimer. “The Museum is embarking on a major renovation/expansion project, and EcoCity Cleveland’s resources will be valuable in helping us utilize green design. Sustainability is at the core of our mission, so the new Center for Regional Sustainability reflects our commitment as we head into the future.”

By formally aligning and creating the new Center for Regional Sustainability, both organizations can more effectively address the unprecedented challenges of the 21st century, including global warming and loss of biological diversity. The Center will seek to:
• Make the Museum the central hub for sustainability exhibits, projects, seminars, events and outreach
• Become a nationally recognized information and policy resource for sustainability and a resource for regional decision-makers
• Create new visions of a sustainable future in Northeast Ohio
• Facilitate planning and projects to help Northeast Ohio reduce its ecological footprint and build a positive identity as a green city on a blue lake

Key Terms of the Merger:

• In July 2007, the Museum will hire Beach to direct the new Center. The Museum will also hire two other EcoCity Cleveland employees, a Web editor and an administrative assistant. 

• All EcoCity Cleveland members will be offered complimentary one-year memberships to the Museum.

• In July 2007, EcoCity Cleveland will transfer unrestricted funds to the Museum to pay salaries and benefits of the Center director and Web editor for a one-year transition period. The salary and benefits of the Center administrative assistant will be paid from Museum funds.

• After July 1, 2007, EcoCity Cleveland will no longer seek funding for its own projects or operations. All new fundraising will be done as part of the new Center at the Museum.

• On an ongoing basis, the Center will be responsible for raising funds for staff and projects. The Museum will cover the Center’s administrative and office expenses.

• The Museum will support efforts of the Center director to seek an endowment for the Center and for a chair for the Center director. The Museum also will support, in coordination with its other fundraising, the Center’s efforts to seek funding for projects.

• EcoCity Cleveland will continue to exist as an independent nonprofit organization until July 31, 2008, with Beach continuing to be its executive director on a part-time basis. During this transition time, its purpose will be to wrap up existing grant commitments and other affairs. On July 31, 2008, all of EcoCity Cleveland’s remaining assets and liabilities will be merged into the Museum.

• Initially, the staff of the Center will work in EcoCity Cleveland’s office space in the Cleveland Environmental Center, located at 3500 Lorain Avenue. Staff will move over when a new tenant is found for the existing space.

• The Center will have its own Advisory Committee composed of Museum Board members, EcoCity Cleveland Board members, and local and national experts on sustainability. This committee will advise and support the Center.

The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, incorporated in 1920, is one of the finest institutions of its kind in North America. It is noted for its collections, research, educational programs and exhibits. The collections encompass more than 4 million artifacts and specimens, and research of global significance focuses on 11 natural science disciplines. The Museum is a valuable resource for scientists and students from kindergarten to university. Many travel here from around the world to study. Museum members and their families and the public broaden their perspectives of the natural world through exhibits, educational programs, lectures, live animal shows and planetarium shows. The Museum is located at 1 Wade Oval Drive, University Circle, Cleveland, OH  44106. 216-231-4600 or 800-317-9155. www.cmnh.org.

Founded as a nonprofit organization in 1992, EcoCity Cleveland is a respected center of thought and practice about sustainability and the design of cities in balance with nature. It works in city neighborhoods to promote environmentally friendly redevelopment that improves quality of life and economic competitiveness. It works in the countryside to promote sensitive development that preserves open space and the ecological integrity of the landscape. And, balancing city and country, EcoCity works to shape regional plans for land use and transportation.