The Wildlife SocieTy
StUDeNt NewS
Students Get a Seat at the table
The TWS Council has decided to create a new position for a
student liaison to represent students’ views at Council meetings.
“We’re trying to engage students more directly and actively in our
work,” says TWS President Tom Franklin, “and to ensure that
when we’re making decisions, student perspectives are available
to Council.” In late 2008, Franklin appointed a subcommittee to
explore how to select a student liaison and consider protocols for
involvement, length of term, and reporting procedures. Committee Chair Gary White presented the committee’s initial report
in February, and it will be discussed at the Council meeting in
March. “This is a way to get students more involved in the parent
Society,” says White. “They need to know where they fit in the
bigger picture.” Council hopes to appoint a student liaison before
September’s Annual Conference in Monterey. “TWS fully realizes
that students are the future of our profession and of the Society,”
says TWS Executive Director/CEO Michael Hutchins. “We want
to make every effort to reach out to wildlife students to discover
what they want and need from TWS.”
Student chapter Advisor of the year
Tad Theimer, professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University, was voted 2008 Student
Chapter Advisor of the Year. An advisor and co-advisor for 11
years, Theimer believes in allowing students to find an avenue
that resonates with them, and then he helps them along that
path. “The key,” Theimer says, “is to guide without guiding.”
In the Student Chapter Advisor of the Year award applica-
tion, Theimer’s students commended his enthusiasm, passion
towards wildlife, and creative teaching styles. After all, how
many professors would dress
up as Charles Darwin to teach
a class on evolution? “He’ll
get really animated,” says
Samantha Dorr, who’s study-
ing mammalogy in Theimer’s
class. “When he’s trying to
explain how an animal moves,
he’ll move like that animal.”
Theimer’s students also cite
his “phenomenally success-
ful” efforts at getting wildlife
credit: Matthew loeser students involved in chapter
on a field trip near the Wuptaki National activities. “Our chapter of
Monument in northern Arizona, Tad
The Wildlife Society would
Theimer (kneeling), along with his wildlife
be only a shadow of what it
management students, sets up an
experiment using exclosures to study
is now if we were without his
the impact of wild ungulates on plant enthusiasm and guidance as
regrowth after a fire. our advisor.”
Student Paper Presentation winners
At the 2008 Annual Conference in Miami, a total of 26 students competed for awards in oral and poster presentations.
Earning the top honors:
Drew w. wirwa, graduate student in the Wetlands Program
at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, emerged as the
winner among five contestants in the poster presentation
category. His research focused on how the timing of reservoir drawdowns in the Tennessee River Valley influences
shorebird use of mudflats.
Sarah A. Hamer, a Ph.D/ DVM student at Michigan University,
topped 20 other competitors to win the award for best oral
presentation. Hamer’s work involved tracking a real-time invasion of blacklegged ticks on wildlife in Michigan. Now in the
sixth year of her graduate program, Hamer is encouraged by
TWS’s interest in disease ecology and conservation medicine.
“I feel fortunate that the Society values this work,” she says.
welcome New Student chapters
TWS is pleased to announce that three new student chapters have joined the fold. The Society has approved Kansas’s
Emporia State University, Minnesota State University, and
the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville as the newest student
chapters in TWS, bringing the total number to 110.
Student conclaves
Every year TWS Student Chapters host four regional Student
Conclaves—an opportunity for valuable hands-on training in
wildlife management, as well as for networking with wildlife
professionals. The Western Student Conclave, hosted by the
Utah State University Student Chapter, was held March 6-10.
Here’s the rest of the lineup for 2009:
Southeastern Student Conclave: March 26-28; co-hosted
by the University of Arkansas-Monticello and Arkansas Tech
University Student Chapters. For more information, visit www.
afrc.uamont.edu/wildlifeconclave/ or contact Philip Tappe at
tappe@uamont.edu or Lisa Brennan at ebrennan@atu.edu.
Eastern Student Conclave: April 3-5; hosted by the
University of Maine. For more information, contact Maureen
McClintock at Maureen.McClintock@umit.maine.edu.
Midwest Student Conclave: April 3-5; hosted by Michigan
State University. For more information, contact Justin Miller
at mill1677@msu.edu.
TWS will again be offering grants of up to $1,000 for approved
Student Chapters. To learn more, visit http://joomla.wildlife.org/
index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=145&Itemid=240.
