Ohio Wesleyan Graduate Earns Ecological Society of America Honor
Kristen Lear, Class of 2011, Receives 2016 Graduate Student Policy Award
A former recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, Ohio Wesleyan University alumna Kristen Lear has earned one of six 2016 Graduate Student Policy Awards given by the Ecological Society of America.
The grant enables Lear, a member of Ohio Wesleyan’s Class of 2011, to participate in policy training and attend meetings April 27-28 with U.S. representative and senators in Washington, D.C. Currently, Lear is a graduate student at the University of Georgia, where she is pursuing her doctorate in integrative conservation and in forestry and natural resources.
At Ohio Wesleyan, Lear majored in pre-professional zoology and, as a senior, earned a Fulbright Scholarship to research conservation of the critically endangered Southern Bent-wing Bat in Australia. In 2014, she earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, supporting her enrollment in the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.
Lear said she is looking forward to her upcoming trip to Washington and the ability to interact with policymakers.
“This is a great opportunity to learn about the interface between science and policy,” she said. “I’m really excited for this, and I know it will be an eye-opening experience.”
The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world’s largest community of professional ecologists and is “committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth.” Learn more at www.esa.org.
Learn more about Ohio Wesleyan’s Department of Zoology and pre-professional zoology major at www.owu.edu/zoology.