Chancellor Mark A. Emmert has announced that the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History at the University will have a new home, opening in the fall of 2000.

"I am pleased that the future home of the Connecticut State Museum of Natural History at UConn will be the former Horticulture Sales Building on Hillside Road," Emmert said. "The new location is in a historic building, constructed in 1922. It provides easy public access and ample parking for the Museum's numerous programs," he said.

Emmert added that funds for renovating the building will be included in a proposal that will be submitted to the University's Board of Trustees later this spring.

"This is an exciting opportunity," said Museum Director Ellen Censky.

"The Museum's new home will allow us to bring together all of our programming, exhibits, and offices under one roof. It gives us an identity. This comes at a perfect time because we are in the midst of strategic planning, and the new facility has invigorated and focused the staff and planning team. We now have the opportunity to provide UConn with the showcase natural history museum that it deserves," she said.

Kent Holsinger, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology and chair of the museum's board of directors, said "Although the Museum's future has been secure, the location of that future was until recently unknown. In the midst of that uncertainty, our energy has been spent on finding short-term solutions to pressing problems. Our new home will allow us to focus on opportunities to ensure that the Museum prospers for years to come."

Carol Davidge