John Koprowski, the dean of the Univerisity of Wyoming’s Haud School of Environment and Natural resources, has been named the 2022 recipient of the Wildlife Society’s Aldo Leopold Memorial Award.
Koprowski is a mammalogist, conservation biologist, and expert on ecology and conservation of wildlife. He received the award for his service to wildlife conservation.
“I’m incredibly humbled to receive this honor for lifetime achievement associated with wildlife conservation,” Koprowski said.
“In many ways, I believe this highlights the great work we do here at UW in the Haub School, the Department of Zoology and Physiology, and other academic units. There’s a long history of amazing work on wildlife here, and I’m proud to contribute to that tradition.”
Koprowski was named the Haub school deal in September of 2022. He came to UW after serving as the director of the School of Natural resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona.
He earned a B.S. in zoology at Ohio State University in 1983 and then attended Southern Illinois University in 1985 to earn his M.A in zoology.
He completed his Ph.D. in 1991 at the University of Kansas, where he graduated with honors in biology.
He has been a professor of wildfire conservation and management since 2000.
In addition to serving as dean of the Haub School at UW, Koprowski holds a Wyoming Excellence Chair.
He’s working on expanding the Haub School to try and advance the understanding and resolution of complex environmental and natural resource challenges in the West and around the world through its educational, research, outreach, and collaborative problem-solving programs.
“This is an incredible, well-deserved honor for an amazing member and leader of the UW family,” UW President Ed Seidel said.
“Dr. Koprowski had an international reputation for excellence in wildlife science before he came to Wyoming, and this award is another illustration of the world-class faculty we have in fields of great importance to the state we serve.”
Koprowski’s research focuses on ecology, conservation, and biodiversity management through community-based approaches in the United States, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, Nepal, China, Mongolia, South Africa, and other international locations.
He has over 200 peer-reviewed articles and books and was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Wildlife Society, and Linnean Society of London.
After receiving the award, Koprowski will get a mental and a plaque at The Wildlife Society’s 2022 annual conference in Spokane, Washington.
He will then present an honorary plenary lecture at the 2023 conference in Louisville, Kentucky.
