Corix Utilities Provides University with $2 million Endowment
Send Via E-MailVANCOUVER, BC, CANADA - January 27, 2011 - WastewaterPR.com - Corix Utilities and the University of Oklahoma (OU) today announced that Corix will be providing a $2 million endowment to help set up the new Corix Institute for Water Resources and Sustainability at the University.
Corix Utilities and the University of Oklahoma (OU) today announced that Corix will be providing a $2 million endowment to help set up the new Corix Institute for Water Resources and Sustainability at the University. This significant environmental investment further expands Corix's portfolio of sustainability initiatives, which include products, services and over 500 water, wastewater and sustainable energy projects all across Canada and the United States.
"The endowment for the Corix Institute is consistent with our commitment to both sustainability and investing in the communities where we work," said Brett Hodson, President and CEO of Corix. "It also builds on our unique collaboration with OU, which we believe is the first of its kind between a company like Corix and a major university in the United States."
The Corix Institute - which will be located within the National Weather Center at OU - will consist of three programs:
-- the established and internationally noted Water Technologies for
Emerging Regions Center, which conducts extensive international
research, using innovative technologies to provide clean water and
better sanitation to emerging regions of the world,
-- the Oklahoma Water Survey, a new program that will serve as the focal
point within the University to bring together experts in water research
from multiple disciplines, and
-- a future program that will be focused upon water and sustainability in
critical regions.
The Institute will be led by an established expert to be identified in a national search, which will begin immediately. In the interim, Paul Risser, Chairman and Chief Operating Officer of OU's Research Cabinet, will guide the Institute's activities.
"The formation of the Corix Institute was guided by the importance of understanding and managing water in all its dimensions," said University of Oklahoma President David L. Boren. "The demand for water to sustain life and the economy as well as for its natural beauty presents challenges for many organizations involved in its protection and management. The Corix Institute seeks to bring together experts from many disciplines to understand the complexity of this precious natural resource and to provide research and data for leaders to make informed decisions regarding its conservation and use."
The endowment of the Corix Institute builds on the 50 year utility services agreement between Corix and OU that was signed in 2010. As part of that, Corix will operate and manage all of OU's installed utility system assets, which include the central heat and power plant, heat distribution, chilled water (production and distribution), natural gas distribution, electricity distribution, potable water distribution and wastewater collection. Corix will design, build and finance all new capital replacement, upgrades and additions to the University's utility systems over the course of the long term operations agreement, with ownership of the utilities themselves remaining with the University.
"We are bringing the full scope of our utility management expertise to the project, which includes district energy systems, wastewater treatment and water conservation programs," concluded Hodson. "Our unique multi-utility approach will result in cost-efficient management, renewal and replacement of OU's utility assets over the long term, allowing the University to focus on its core missions of teaching, research and service."
The endowment of the new Corix Institute also further increases Corix's portfolio of sustainability initiatives. In addition to being an industry leader with a full range of utility infrastructure products and services, it has also helped develop such leading edge projects as Dockside Green in Victoria, B.C., the Sun Rivers geothermal community in Kamloops, B.C., and the water, wastewater and multi-utility services being provided in several locations in Alaska.
