Des Moines Business Record
01-14-07
Central Iowa Business Leaders of 2006: Ted Townsend
By Beth Dalbey
bethdalbey@bpcdm.com
Calling Ted Townsend a visionary is a little like saying Jane Goodall got on well
with the chimpanzees she studied in Tanzania. But if Townsend's farsighted
thinking pays off, as those surrounding him at his Great Ape Trust of Iowa and
Earthpark projects expect it will, Central Iowa could join the Jane Goodall
Institute or the Eden Project in England as places where vexing environmental
and ecological issues are addressed.
At Great Ape Trust, Townsend has brought together some of the world's preeminent experts on primate learning, intelligence and language and built a facility
that is unique in the world. Two species of great apes, bonobos and orangutans,
currently reside at The Trust, and gorillas and chimpanzees are expected to join
them at an unspecified time in the future.
"Understanding how any mind acquires knowledge is going to turn our
understanding upside down," Townsend said of the research being accomplished
at The Trust, where the first great apes arrived in 2004. "An opportunity like that
doesn't come along very often."
Groundbreaking is expected this year on Townsend's other major project,
Earthpark, a national environmental center to be built near Pella on the shore of
Lake Red Rock, Iowa's largest lake, and seeded financially by Townsend with
more than $10 million. When complete, perhaps as soon as 2010, Earthpark will
include a 600,000-gallon freshwater aquarium, exterior prairie and wetland
exhibits, an indoor rain forest biome, and galleries on global environmental
science issues. Featuring a sustainable design and materials and using
alternative and renewable energy systems, Earthpark's mission is to "inspire
generations to learn about the natural world" through an immersive experience its
founder believes will stimulate a deeper interest in science and education.
Earthpark, like the Eden Project in Cornwall, England, carries huge tourism
potential for Iowa, according to its backers, but there's more to the story than
that, Townsend said. Through the two projects, Iowa can take a lead role in
addressing two of the three major crises he believes must be confronted in the
first half of the 21st century: the state of the environment and education and
learning. The third is the threat of religion-driven terrorism, "a monster"
Townsend admits "there's not a lot we can do about locally."
Townsend has committed more than $31 million of his personal fortune, built at
the formerly family-owned Townsend Engineering Co., which he sold last year to
the Dutch company Stork Food Systems, to seed his visions for the state - about
$21 million at the Great Ape Trust and $10 million at Earthpark.
"I think there are a great many folks in Des Moines and Iowa who underestimate
the significant investment Ted Townsend has made in these projects," said Al
Setka, director of communications for The Trust. "His generosity and vision will
be felt for generations to come."
One way Townsend's influence will be felt is through formal and informal
relationships with nine colleges and universities, most in Iowa, but also with the
Great Ape Research Institute in Okayama, Japan, and the Stone Age Institute in
Indiana.
"Ted is a very big thinker who creates big ideas and pours his enthusiasm into
selling them," said Iowa State University President Gregory L. Geoffroy.
"Every organization and community needs people like Ted, who think outside the
box, who will challenge others to think much bigger and broader than they
otherwise would."
Iowa State stands to gain from the $1.5 million Townsend has set aside for
education throughout Iowa and the world. The investment carries the name of
Duane M. Rumbaugh, lead scientist emeritus at The Trust and one of the world
leaders in the field of primate learning, intelligence and language. The other
institutions that have developed formal or informal relationships with The Trust
are Drake University, University of Iowa, Central College, Buena Vista College,
Grinnell College and Simpson College. Memoranda of understanding have been
reached with some others, including the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study at
George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., established in the late 20th century to
advance human knowledge for the betterment of mankind, and Carthage
University in Tunisia.
Geoffroy said the alliance with a world-class research center such as Great Ape
Trust has obvious benefits for Iowa State faculty and staff, but also is a "two-way
win-win interaction" because The Trust's scientists also profit from a strong
association with the university's scientists and their expertise in primatology and
related fields.
Great Ape Trust, Geoffroy said, "has some of the very best scientists, facilities
and research that could be found anywhere."
"It provides the opportunity for our faculty working in a number of areas on
campus to interact with the outstanding scientists at Great Ape Trust and in doing
so enhance the impact and excellence of their own work," he said. "It provides
our students, both undergraduate and graduate, with exceptional educational
opportunities, and it will help us recruit the very best faculty and students who
want to work in related areas."
"It's all about science and learning," Townsend said, "and Iowa State, from the
inside out, has embraced this opportunity."
Geoffroy said Townsend challenges others to think differently. "People like Ted
are few and far between, and we always need to treasure them because it is
through people like Ted that organizations and communities make the biggest
leaps and advances."