University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

From 2009 to 2012 I received postdoctoral training under Dr. Durham. We spent several years designing new research projects to support conservation efforts in the Galápagos and co-taught seminars at the Stanford Center for Latin American Studies focused on conservation and development challenges in the Galápagos Islands. It was an exciting time as I was visiting the Galápagos for research activities and bringing those experiences directly back into the classroom with a group of outstanding students. It was at this time that I became familiar with many of the thoughts, ideas, and arguments featured in Exuberant Life, which remains in press. After I was offered the job here at Penn State, Dr. Durham invited me to be involved with the Stanford Travel/Study Field Seminar in Galápagos, a program that merges student educational travel with university alumni travel. That trip in September 2012 was a cherry on top of my time working with Bill. He has remained a valuable mentor and father figure to me. After years of attempting to walk in his footsteps and develop a similar ecosystem for myself here at Penn State, I was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholar award to work with the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galápagos as my host institution, and I also hosted a Penn State Alumni Association tour of Galápagos this past August. Given the way my career has unfolded and the full-circle return to Galápagos in the year in which I obtained tenure, as well as the essential role that Bill Durham has played in my own professional and personal development, there is no other book I would rather see recognized here for this honor.