Feb. 16, 2011

The Wyss Foundation has awarded fellowships to two students at the University of Michigan' School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) as future leaders in Western land conservation issues. The 2010 Wyss Scholars (listed with their SNRE field of academic study) are Martha Campbell  (Sustainable Systems) and David O'Connor (Conservation Biology).

"While the University of Michigan is not located in the Wyss Foundation's Intermountain Western focus area, SNRE was chosen to host Scholars because of its national reputation and the extraordinary reputation of its alumni who work in leadership positions in conservation agencies and organizations across the Western United States,í¢â‚¬  said Steven L. Yaffee, an SNRE professor and director of the Ecosystem Management Initiative, based at SNRE.

Campbell and O'Connor will be recognized at a reception and dinner Thursday, March 17.

Campbell is studying Sustainable Systems while dually enrolled at the Ross School of Business in the Erb Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise. She grew up in the Southwest and worked for six years in New Mexico on public and private land management, conservation, ecotourism and climate change issues.

O'Connor is studying Conservation Biology and has worked for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, World Wildlife Fund and the National Geographic Society, most recently on National Geographicí¢â‚¬â„¢s special edition on water scarcity, the core sustainability issue in the American West.

The Wyss Scholars Program for the Conservation of the American West identifies and nurtures a generation of leaders on Western land conservation issues. This is the fourth year SNRE students have been eligible for a Wyss Scholars fellowship; other schools participating in the program are the University of Montana, Yale University and Northern Arizona University.

The Wyss Foundation administers the program; SNRE fellows are chosen during the first year of their master's program and are selected based on dedication, need and merit.

The program covers up to half of the tuition and expenses of earning a masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s degree. Half of the award is made during the masterí¢â‚¬â„¢s program; the remainder is available for Scholars who enter qualifying employment. Scholars are also awarded up to $5,000 to cover their summer research or internship to provide conservation work experience. For the purposes of the Wyss Scholars program, the American West is defined as eastern Oregon, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada or Colorado.

About the U-M School of Natural Resources and Environment:
The School of Natural Resources and Environment's overarching objective is to contribute to the protection of the Earth's resources and the achievement of a sustainable society. Through research, teaching, and outreach, faculty, staff and students are devoted to generating knowledge and developing policies, techniques and skills to help practitioners manage and conserve natural and environmental resources to meet the full range of human needs on a sustainable basis.
http://www.snre.umich.edu

About the Wyss Foundation:
The Wyss Foundation is a private, charitable foundation dedicated to land conservation in the Intermountain West. It supports a variety of conservation and community organizations, as well as scholarships and fellowships to support the next generation of leaders on western land conservation.
http://www.wyssfoundation.org/

About the Ecosystem Management Initiative:
The mission of the Ecosystem Management Initiative is to promote sustainable natural resource management through ecosystem-based teaching, research and outreach through a series of interconnected strategies.
http://www.snre.umich.edu/ecomgt/index.htm