About the Ellen Campus
The Ellen Campus serves as a gateway to conservation for local community members, tourists, scientists and students from around the world and is the first purpose-built facility for the Fossey Fund’s work.
Campus History and Background
Our award-winning Ellen Campus was designed and built by the acclaimed MASS Design Group and was named one of Africa’s 10 most-anticipated architectural projects. It has been featured on CBS’s “60 Minutes” and in Architectural Digest.
The multi-acre, eco-friendly facility adjacent to Volcanoes National Park includes three main buildings – the Sandy and Harold Price Research Center, the Rob and Melani Walton Education Center, and the Cindy Broder Conservation Gallery – as well as housing for visiting students and researchers.
Built with locally sourced materials and supplies, the facility provided 2,400 construction jobs for the community and invested over $13.5 million into the Rwandan economy. Embodying the Fossey Fund’s mission to limit environmental impact, it also incorporates rainwater harvesting, green roofs, reforestation of former agricultural land, and a constructed wetland to treat wastewater and promote biodiversity. These initiatives have yielded positive results as the campus is now blossoming with wildlife and providing a living laboratory for researchers and students.
The Ellen Campus serves as a gateway to conservation for local community members, tourists, scientists and students from around the world and is the first purpose-built facility for the Fossey Fund’s work. The campus construction was made possible through a lead gift from Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi and support from donors worldwide. In addition to the public exhibits, it also houses laboratories, classrooms, student accommodations and other facilities for supporting conservation and science, making it a hub for research and discovery in the region.
Dian Fossey has always been a hero of mine, and so it’s been the honor of a lifetime to support this project. To see my name alongside hers on the walls of this beautiful campus, and to know I’m doing my part to protect endangered gorillas and continue Dian’s legacy, is simply amazing.
Photo Gallery
Collaborating Partners
