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 Gregory Geoffroy signed the agreement in a formal ceremony this afternoon at the Trust’s 230-acre campus in southeast Des Moines.

“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.”

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 master’s and doctorate levels. The partnership increases opportunities for Iowa State students to collaborate with Great Ape Trust researchers on the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence, the Trust’s primary area of scientific inquiry.

Iowa State University faculty and students have worked closely with Great Ape Trust since it opened in 2004. Two Great Ape Trust scientists serve as affiliate professors in ISU’s department of anthropology, and 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 ISU assistant professor of anthropology Jill Pruetz’s work at a field site in Senegal, Africa.