Alumni

Stay Connected

Read the FWCB Newsletter.

Be sure FWCB has your up-to-date contact information, so you'll receive the department's e-newsletter every other month. It's a great way to learn about upcoming events and news about alumni, students and faculty. To update your information or subscribe to the newsletter, send your name, email address, affiliation, graduation year and major to myfwcb@umn.edu. Join us on Facebook for another way to stay in contact with the department and other alumni!

Attend the Kolshorn Lecture and Reception.

The Kolshorn Lecture and Awards Ceremony, held each fall, is FWCB’s biggest annual event. FWCB invites a distinguished scientist or conservationist to campus to give the lecture. Alumni and friends are encouraged to attend the lecture, awards ceremony, and reception. It’s a great chance to catch up with former professors, staff and other alumni.

Get Involved

Be a mentor.

The CFANS mentor program is an excellent opportunity for students to connect with professionals working in their areas of career interest. Through this relationship, students can get an inside view of how various companies and organizations work, how professionals balance life and career and learn how to better prepare for the working world. Each year, both undergraduates and graduate students are matched with alumni mentors.

Early Career Award Nomination

This award recognizes an early-career alumnus or alumna of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology who has achieved outstanding accomplishments and is poised to make significant advancements in their field. Nominees will have demonstrated excellence and potential for future excellence in one or several of the following areas: (1) research and discovery, (2) communication and outreach, education and pedagogy, (3) management and policy.

Nominate: Early Career Alumni Award

Distinguished Alumni

The annual FWCB Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes an alumnus/alumna who has attained professional distinction in fisheries, wildlife, conservation biology or related field as evidenced by outstanding professional achievement on a state, national, or international level. Beginning in 2020, the Distinguished Alumni Award will be presented at the Spring Research Showcase and Awards (April).

Nominate: Distinguished Alumni Award

Join an Alumni Society.

The College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS) Alumni Society has nearly 3000 members dedicated to supporting excellence in education and promoting collegiate activities. Alumni, friends, parents and UM students are also welcome to join the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.

Support FWCB Students and Programs.

Your gift can help support undergraduate scholarships, provide graduate fellowships, give support to faculty, or offer ongoing program support. Learn about ways to make a gift to FWCB.

2018 - Jeff Nelson, B.S., Wildlife, '79

Jeff received his BS in Wildlife in 1979 from the University of Minnesota and his MS from Utah State University in 1982. Jeff was with Ducks Unlimited for 30 years, where he held several key executive positions including Chief Biologist, Director of Operations for the Great Plains program in Bismarck, North Dakota, Executive Vice President and CEO of Ducks Unlimited Canada. Following his first retirement, Jeff served as deputy director of the World Wildlife Fund’s Northern Great Plains Program; a position he held for nearly six years. He advanced habitat conservation and protection in both organizations by building innovative teams, leading successful fundraising campaigns, and forging successful partnerships with tribes, rural communities, landowners, government agencies, and other conservation organizations.

2017- John J. Magnuson, '56 B.S.; '58 M.S. Fish and Wildlife Management

Dr. Magnuson’s accomplishments as a distinguished fish and aquatic biologist have been crucial for advancing the understanding of global stressors such as climate change, invasive species and pollution on lake ecosystems and their fisher communities. His influence on the field of fisheries and aquatic ecology continues to be tremendous, through the more than 80 graduate students he has mentored, the regional, national and international policies he helped shape, and because of his leadership as the first director of the University of Wisconsin-Center of Limnology.

2016- Chuck Meslow, M.S. Wildlife Management '66

Throughout his distinguished career, Dr. Meslow has provided scientific leadership and service to the wildlife profession. Chuck led the Oregon Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit for 18 years before retiring in 1994. He authored and coauthored more than 80 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He has advised and mentored more than 50 M.S. and Ph.D. students, many of whom have gone on to have distinguished careers themselves.

2015 - Donald Siniff, Ph.D, Wildlife Biology ‘67

Don is recognized as one of the early pioneers of marine mammal ecology and conservation. His research and that of his students has focused on Weddell, leopard, and crab-eating seals in Antarctica; he has also made very important contributions to knowledge and conservation of sea otters on the U.S. Pacific Coast.

2014 - Jerry Cegelske, B.S., Wildlife Management ’74

Jerry is a retired US Fish and Wildlife Service Law Enforcement Special Agent whose career spanned 28 years, ten states, and four countries. His work included covert operations, complex investigations, developing inter-cultural education programs and training rangers in several parts of the world.

Nominate a Distinguished Alumni

There is a call for nominations in the summer and fall with a November 15 deadline. All are welcome to nominate an individual for this award and individuals can self-nominate. Eligible candidates are those who received either their baccalaureate degree through the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, or their graduate degree from a faculty of the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology. Nominees cannot be a current member of faculty or staff or a sitting Regent, but retirees are eligible. This award may recognize an individual posthumously.

Click here for the nomination form. Please complete this form to the best of your ability; the selection committee does not contact nominees or nominators for additional information when making its decision.