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The Harris World Ecology Center, originally the International Center for Tropical Ecology, was established in 1990 by the Department of Biology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis in collaboration with the Missouri Botanical Garden, in order to support the research and training of graduate students studying tropical ecology and conservation. Soon thereafter, the Saint Louis Zoo also joined in joint training and research efforts. In 2006, the Center expanded its efforts beyond the tropics, and was renamed the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center in 2006 after a major donation from Whitney R. Harris. The Center continues to fund research in ecology, biodiversity, and conservation, in addition to outreach and education.

Research
The Harris Center offers fellowships and scholarships to graduate students whose studies relate to conservation. These include fully-funded fellowships for Ph.D. or masters students who plan to pursue the conservation of biodiversity. The center also provides training via undergraduate and graduate certificate programs that give students hands-on experience working with local, national, and international conservation NGOs and government agencies.

In addition to funding research, the Harris World Ecology Center emphasizes community education. It started with World Ecology Day, which is now the annual Whitney and Anna Harris Conservation Forum, traditionally held at the St. Louis Zoo in the fall. Additional events have included the Jane and Whitney Harris Lecture series, an annual public lecture by a leader in biodiversity conservation.

World Ecology Award
One of the first events after the Harris Center's founding in 1990 was the presentation of its first World Ecology Award on World Ecology Day. The first World Ecology Award was presented in 1990 to recording artist, film star and activist John Denver, who accepted the award on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus. Since then, the Harris Center has presented the award to twenty-three individuals deemed to have made significant contributions to the protection of the global environment and Earth's biodiversity. Previous awardees include E.O. Wilson, Sylvia Earle, and Jane Goodall.