Residence Tucson, Arizona | Name John Koprowski | |
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Born 29 September 1961 (age 62) ( 1961-09-29 ) Nationality United States of America Fields Conservation biology of terrestrial vertebrates, behavioral and population ecology, social behavior, forest management, urban wildlife, threatened and endangered species, ecology and conservation of squirrels, climate change Alma mater Ohio State University
Southern Illinois University
University of Kansas Known for Director, Mount Graham Biological Program at University of Arizona
Extensive expertise in the ecology and conservation of squirrels Notable awards IUCN North American Coordinator-Small Mammals (2010)
Western National Parks Association’s Emil W. Haury Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science in the National Park (1999) Books Squirrels of the World, NA TREE SQUIRRELS PB Education Ohio State University, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, University of Kansas | ||
John L. Koprowski, Professor, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, mammalogist, conservation biologist, and leading expert on the ecology and conservation of squirrels, was born in 1961 in Lakewood, Ohio.
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Education
John Koprowski graduated from Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio, in June 1979 and earned his B.S. in Zoology at Ohio State University in June, 1983. He then attended Southern Illinois University to earn his M.A. in Zoology in August, 1985 with advisor Dr. Willard D. Klimstra. His Ph.D. was completed in May, 1991 at University of Kansas where he graduated with honors in Biology studying with advisor Dr. Kenneth B. Armitage.
Career
While a doctoral and postdoctoral student at the University of Kansas, John began teaching night courses in introductory biology at Kansas City Kansas Community College and also advanced courses in vertebrate biology and evolution at the University of Missouri–Kansas City at Kansas City. This teaching experience and his research on behavior and ecology of tree squirrels permitted John to join the Deptartment of Biology faculty at Willamette University, the oldest university in the American west, in 1992 in Salem, Oregon. John was granted tenure and promoted during his time at Willamette. In 2000, John left Oregon to join the faculty of the wildlife program at the University of Arizona and to serve as the Director of the Mt. Graham Biology Program that includes intensive research on one of the most endangered species in the United States, the Mount Graham Red Squirrel. John is professor of wildlife science in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment and a faculty affiliate of the Institute of the Environment.
John Koprowski’s research extends from his early experience with the behavior and ecology of wildlife in human impacted environments, especially squirrels. Perhaps most notable for his work on squirrels, he conducted and published two papers on ground squirrels from undergraduate course projects, obtained both of his graduate degrees focused on the population, behavioral, and evolutionary ecology of tree squirrels, and continues to work on squirrels as model organisms. His work has focused on the conservation of diversity of mammals, particularly squirrels, and elucidating patterns in the social and mating systems of mammals as well as the population response of wildlife to stressors in their environment such as non-native species, human development, disease, fire, and climate change.
Awards
Family
John Koprowski is the eldest son of Judith Irene and Anthony Thomas Koprowski, a homemaker and a city laborer, who also raised two younger sons, Jerome Anthony and Joseph Raymond Koprowski. John married Nancy M. Cervenak on 21 September 1985. They have two children, Zachary Dylan and Emma Irene Koprowski.
Early life
John was raised in the west side suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio spending various amounts of time living in apartments in Cleveland, Lakewood, Westlake, and Rocky River before the family settled into a house in Lakewood while he was in the 6th grade. His parents loved fishing and he obtained his passion for the outdoors from the many family fishing trips. He would usually fish for a few hours and then sneaked off to catch turtles, frogs, or salamanders. Squirrels were one of the few species that could be found in an inner, highly urbanized, suburb and became a fascination for the young naturalist; the taxonomic group remained a research interest in his career. He had become fascinated by questions about animal behavior and how animals were able to survive in such challenging environments. Besides biology, John had strong interests in sports, especially baseball, and history; he coauthored a history of the Lakewood, Ohio public school system while a student in Advanced Placement U.S. History at Lakewood High School that was integrated into the curriculum. As a high school student, John was a member of the Latin Club, The Wilderness Society, and the Backpacking and Mountaineering Society that permitted him to combine his interests in science and the outdoors.