The David Fleishhacker ’55 Research Award was established in 2019 and is used to offset the cost of registration, travel and lodging for Peccary Scholars who wish to present and publish their original research at professional conferences such as the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology (SVP). This opportunity is offered to all Peccary Scholars doing advanced research in their senior year.

The roots of student research programs at Webb came from humble beginnings, using external sources such as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. As demand increased for such opportunities, it became incumbent on Webb to seek a permanent revenue stream. A former participant in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, Fleishhacker competed alongside the nation’s leading young scientists as a Webb student and then traveled to Washington D.C., where he met President Dwight Eisenhower at the White House. He presented his paleontological project titled, “Evolution of Oreodonts in Three Ways.”

To pay forward the opportunity given to him, Fleishhacker endowed a fund at the Alf Museum to provide Webb students the opportunity to conduct professional research and present it on the international stage. His $100,000 gift, paid through IRA charitable rollover gifts, a growing trend in philanthropy, continues a decades-long tradition of our commitment to student research in the field of paleontology.