Ronald Case, professor emeriti at the School of Natural Resources, was awarded the University of Nebraska Alumni Association’s Doc Elliot Award in late spring.
This award was established in 1986 to recognize retired faculty who have an exemplary record of service and have positively impacted students and alumni. Case, who retired as a professor of wildlife in 2000, has stayed active in his community, serving three terms as director for the Lower Platte South Natural Resources District, and has stated it is important to him to contribute to the place where he works and lives.
Case was hired in 1972 to teach and conduct research in the poultry department. Out of that department evolved the former Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife. "He was probably the first true wildlife biologist that the university hired," said Gary Hergenrader, Nebraska's state forester and current director of the Nebraska Forest Service. Hergenrader was Case's supervisor at the university for 16 years. When Case wasn't teaching introductory natural resource courses and upper division courses like wildlife population biology, he was busy conducting research and being the adviser for the Wildlife Club.
Case has continued to be an avid supporter of the UNL Wildlife Club, a student chapter of the Wildlife Society, a professional organization involved in wildlife stewardship through science and education. Case continued his support of students by establishing a scholarship in 2002 to assist students pursuing a career in conservation. To qualify, students must be a fish and wildlife major and preference is given to students active in the Wildlife Club.
"I saw so many students who weren't necessarily leaders when they joined the club, and it really helped them hone their leadership skills," he said at the time he established the scholarship. If the scholarship helps more students to become and stay involved in the UNL Wildlife Club, Case had said, it will fulfill its purpose.
During the course of his career, Case was regularly recognized for his work. He received awards for both teaching and advising, including the L.K. Crowe Outstanding Adviser in 1991, an award from the National Association of College Teachers of Agriculture in 1992 and the National Awards Program for Excellence in College and University Teaching in the Food and Agricultural Sciences in 1993.
To learn more about this year’s awards, click here.
— Nebraska Alumni Association contributed to this report.