center in May, 1957 with Richard King Mellon and about 600 others in attendance. In 1985 Gulf Oil was acquired by Chevron Corporation which maintained its own research facilities in Richmond, California, the complex had grown to with 54 multi-story lab buildings and employed nearly 2,000 scientists and engineers with an annual operation budget of over $100 million. The University of Pittsburgh proposed that it would be able to maintain and operate the facility in order to keep the center open for the benefit of the region. Gulf and Chevron agreed to the university's proposal and donated the site, valued at $100 million including the fully furnished and equipped laboratories, a computer telecommunications center, an executive office building, and unique facilities such as large cold room containing a wind tunnel. Chevron also added a $3 million start up grant, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania added a $3 million matching grant for economic development. The donation was announced by university Chancellor Wesley Posvar at a press conference in April, 1985. The university took over the facility in early 1986 and renamed it the University of Pittsburgh Applied Research Center. On March 17, 1986, the university signed its first major tenant, General Motors Corporation, to a four-year, $13 million contract and in two years was sheltering 80 small businesses. U-PARC is home to academic programs and to more than 100 companies from all over the world, including several Fortune 500 companies. U-PARC's pilot plant services range from petroleum, petrochemical, and chemical-based technologies to environmental, synthetic fuels, biotechnology, and other emerging technologies. Buildings are connected indoors throughout the campus via tunnels. On-site amenities include 24-hour monitored access points, free parking, catering service, meeting/conference space, a U.S. Postal Service sub-station, a credit union, ATMs, picnic areas, outdoor dining, volleyball courts, locker rooms, and shower facilities. In addition to the companies that rent occupy the facilities at U-PARC, the University of Pittsburgh's Swanson School of Engineering maintains research groups and laboratories at the site, including the Manufacturing Assistance Center. Beginning in 2010, the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences initiated a Masters of Science program in Physician Assistant Studies headquartered at U-PARC. The space for the Physician's Assistant program includes classrooms, breakout rooms, student lounge, computer room, conference room and offices for faculty and administration. Manufacturing Assistance Center The Manufacturing Assistance Center (MAC), located in Building A-11 of U-PARC, is a working