Clemson professor of wildlife ecology named 2012 Alumni Master Teacher

Published: May 11, 2012

Drew Lanham (second row, center) is surrounded by students who selected him to be Alumni Master Teacher. image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University students have chosen Joseph Drew Lanham as the Alumni Master Teacher for 2012.

Lanham is a professor of wildlife ecology in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences. His research interests include songbird ecology and conservation, integration of game and nongame wildlife management and the African-American land ethic and its role in natural resources conservation.

The Alumni Master Teacher Award for outstanding undergraduate classroom instruction is presented to a faculty member nominated by the student body and selected by the Student Alumni Council. Lanham will receive a $2,500 stipend and was presented with a plaque at Friday’s Commencement.

Lanham brings students face-to-face with nature through field experiences while emphasizing the art that lies behind the science. He also introduces his students to the realities of the bio-political process that often puts pressures from outside interests ahead of the science behind wildlife conservation.

“I will continue to have the students in my hunting class write haiku, and I will continue to hold the land ethic up as the ‘land grant gospel’ to guide us all to a more sustainable future,” Lanham wrote in a letter thanking students for the award. “I will do my best to make your experiences as learners an exciting and insightful process. With this award, I feel more validated than I ever have in doing so.”

"Every student when they look back on ‘the person they are today,’ has a teacher or professor who they know helped them get to that point. As I reflect, that professor for me is Dr. Drew Lanham," said Artimus Wimberley, a student majoring in wildlife and fisheries biology.

Lanham is a recipient of the TogetherGreen Fellowship sponsored by Audubon and Toyota, a member of Xi Sigma Pi honorary forestry society and recipient of Excellence in Teaching Awards from the Clemson University Wildlife Society in 2000, 2002, 2004 and 2007.

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