Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia’s Robert Warren recently won the 2013 Excellence in Wildlife Education Award, a national award from The Wildlife Society that recognizes exemplary teaching of wildlife education.
Warren, a Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor in the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, accepted his award at the organization’s annual conference in Milwaukee earlier this month.
Warren, who teaches wildlife ecology and management, said he was surprised and humbled to receive the award, given for the first time in 2011.
“Helping to educate and advise students as they strive to become wildlife professionals has always been the most rewarding part of my work at UGA,” he said. “Therefore, to receive this national-level recognition from my professional peers is absolutely the greatest honor that I could receive in my career as a university wildlife educator.”
The national teaching award honors university professors who excel in the areas of teaching, advising, research, academic program development and educational leadership. It recognizes faculty members who teach undergraduate or graduate courses related to wildlife education, excelling in both the classroom and professional development of students eager to enter wildlife fields.
Sarah Covert, the Warnell School’s associate dean for academic affairs, said Warren possesses a unique teaching style that incorporates the key critical thinking skills that future graduates need. His enthusiasm for the field also has made a memorable impact on students, who often cite him as the most influential wildlife professor they studied under at Warnell.
“Dr. Warren is a superb teaching-scholar whose focus throughout his 34-year career has been on the education of wildlife students,” Covert said. “Above all, he has excelled in the classroom and supported the professional development of countless wildlife students in very personal ways.”
Warren, who has been with the Warnell School since 1983, has been a certified wildlife biologist since 1982. He is heavily involved with the state, regional and national levels of The Wildlife Society.
His research focuses on the ecology and management of wildlife populations, particularly in urban and suburban areas. He also studies predators, wildlife damage management and wildlife genetics. He and collaborators in the Warnell School also have been studying ways to minimize vehicle collisions with deer and black bears on public roadways in Georgia.
Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources
The Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at UGA is the oldest existing forestry school in the South. Located on South Campus, the school’s educational and outreach programs focus on the conservation and management of forests and other natural resources, including discovering ways to restore and better use them. For more information, see http://www.warnell.uga.edu/.
The Wildlife Society
The Wildlife Society is a national organization that focuses on the co-existence of humans and wildlife through proper conservation and management while supporting and advocating for scientific examination of issues surrounding wildlife. It represents and serves the professional community of scientists, managers, educators, technicians, planners and others who work actively to study, manage and conserve wildlife and habitats worldwide. For more information, see http://www.wildlife.org/.
