FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 8, 2008

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(Washington, September 8) – Just as major construction is beginning for the United States Institute of Peace’s (USIP) permanent headquarters project at the corner of the National Mall, the Institute is very pleased to announce a $1.5 million contribution from the BP America Foundation that will bring the Institute a step closer to completing this new public facility. The BP America Foundation gift has been made explicitly in honor of former Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, after whom the building’s central wing will be named. (From left to right: USIP President Richard Solomon, BP America Chairman and President Bob Malone, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, USIP Chairman Robin West, former Senator Tom Daschle. Photo: U.S. Institute of Peace)

The USIP headquarters project is expected to be complete in the fall of 2010. When it opens, the Madeleine K. Albright Wing will be the central of three wings; it will face the National Mall and the Potomac River. This wing will house both staff offices and the Institute’s state-of-the-art conference and public meeting spaces. The conference center, with a 230-seat auditorium, a 45-seat briefing room and six smaller meeting rooms, will help the Institute fully realize its congressional mandate of public education and policy dialogue and expand its operations in response to increased demand for its programs and services.

BP America chairman and president Bob Malone said: “As a company that often faces the challenge of operating in conflict zones, we have a deep appreciation for the institutions and the people who work so hard to maintain peace where possible and restore peace where necessary. Secretary Albright has devoted her life to the causes of freedom and peace. No one knows better what America means to the world or the good America can do in the world. It is fitting that the Institute recognize the achievements of such an accomplished diplomat, woman and American by naming the central wing of its new headquarters building in her honor.”

Institute of Peace president Richard H. Solomon added, “The work that Institute staff and colleagues will do inside the Institute’s permanent headquarters, as well as the building’s very presence on the corner of the National Mall, will convey our nation’s commitment to building peace around the world. The Madeleine K. Albright wing in particular will be home to many of the Institute’s most significant public and educational activities.”

In 1996 Congress awarded USIP a prestigious, historic site near the National Mall, at Constitution Avenue and 23^rd Streets, NW for the purpose of building a permanent facility housing office space and public education activities. With an unparalleled location and dramatic building design, the new headquarters will serve the American people, the federal government, and the international community as a center for research, education, training, and policy development on issues of international conflict prevention, management, and resolution.

Congress has provided $100 million for construction of the new building, and USIP is raising an additional $86 million from the private sector, of which BP America Foundation’s gift is a part.

For pictures and more information about the building project, please visit http://www.usip.org/building/index.html.