Victor and Peggy Pavel

When Victor and Margaret (Peggy) designated the University of Hawai‘i Foundation as the primary beneficiary of their estate, they wanted to keep their identity private and preferred no personal publicity for what would turn out to be the largest estate gift to UH in UH history. Fortunately, they gave us permission to posthumously acknowledge them, and let Hawai‘i know who provided the transformative $10 million estate gift that will support UH programs and students statewide. In addition to “who”, the Pavels more importantly wanted to share with Hawai‘i “why.” The Pavel’s believed deeply in the value of science education and nature preservation. They felt that UH, with its internationally recognized expertise in these areas, was an excellent investment.

A major portion of the Pavel gift to the University of Hawai‘i is aimed at fueling research in microbial oceanography, with the aim to grow our knowledge of the tiniest organisms so important to a healthy ocean ecosystem. Most of the Pavel Endowment with SOEST will support undergraduate student scholarship and program development for students and staff engaged in microbial research. Additionally, the gift will support the creation of an endowed Chair in Microbial Oceanography.

In naming David Karl as the first recipient of this Chair, Dean Brian Taylor noted “David’s stellar 35-year career at UH has been recognized by many awards, including membership in the National Academy of Sciences. This gift provides the means to perpetuate that excellence through his mentoring of the next generation of scholars.” Professor of Oceanography and Director of the Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE), David Karl added, “This gift will be used to do pioneering research on the microorganisms that dominate the biomass of the ocean, provide food for most of the food web, harvest solar energy, degrade pollutants, and maintain half the oxygen that we breathe. Our future is tied to the health of the ocean.”