College Level Awards

George Wallace

Warner College Emeritus Award

The Center for Protected Area Management (CPAM) was born out of George’s research and outreach lab as Professor and Head of HDNR. One of the flagship programs that Dr. Wallace started, CPAM’s annual International Seminar on Protected Area Management, is now in its 30th year and has impacted over 600 professional land managers from 26 countries. CPAM also benefits today from the long-standing relationship that Dr. Wallace created with the US Forest Service International Programs, and his continued fiscal support.

 Dominique David-Chavez

WCNR Outstanding PhD Dissertation Award

Dr. David-Chavez’s dissertation, “A guiding model for decolonizing environmental science research and restoring relational accountability with Indigenous communities” made important advances, all of which contribute to the literature in diverse academic disciplines and have already begun to shape environmental research and practice across multiple scales. Dominique developed an “evidence-based, practitioner-informed analytical framework that can be applied for guiding and evaluating responsible Indigenous community engagement across a wide range of research fields”. The dissertation presents the first global assessment of Indigenous community engagement in climate research studies, concluding that “the vast majority of climate studies (87%) practice an extractive model in which outside researchers use Indigenous knowledge systems with minimal participation or decision-making authority from communities who hold them.” Importantly, this global analysis also “concludes with a series of guiding questions and methods to support responsible research practice with Indigenous and local communities.”.

Tara Teel

WCNR Outstanding Mentorship Award

Dr. Tara Teel regularly invests the time to speak with the students she advises, offers helpful and timely feedback on manuscripts, and always does so with the enthusiasm needed to keep students motivated towards their goals. It is evident that she is deeply invested in the personal and academic successes, and it is reflected in all of the students she advises. She continues to provide support during difficult times and is always there to celebrate our accomplishments, inside and outside of our academic pursuits. Any student under Dr. Teel’s guidance will come out of the HDNR program feeling confident and well-prepared to make a difference in the conservation field. Dr. Teel has shown that she is the very best kind of mentor – one who is constantly building up those around her and instilling confidence in their abilities. Our department, and the academic community at CSU, is made better because of her work and positivity.

Department Level Awards

JVK Wagar Honor Senior Awards

Sylvia Johnson                          Sammi Lauth

 Allie Sands                          Ben Skarban

JVK Wagar highlights graduating seniors in recreation resources  that have demonstrated outstanding academic achievement, involvement in affairs of professional societies, and potential for leadership in their field of study.

Brianne Lauro

Undergraduate Student Diversity and Inclusion Award

Brianne was award the Undergraduate Student Diversity and Inclusion Award in HDNR for her outstanding efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in research, teaching, outreach, and administration, as well as day-to-day acts that foster an inclusive community on the campus.

Megan Jones

Graduate Student Diversity and Inclusion Award

Megan was award the Graduate Student Diversity and Inclusion Award in HDNR for her outstanding efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in research, teaching, outreach, and administration, as well as day-to-day acts that foster an inclusive community on the campus.

Jennifer Solomon

Faculty/Staff Diversity and Inclusion Award

Jennifer was award the Diversity and Inclusion Award in HDNR for her outstanding efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in research, teaching, outreach, and administration, as well as day-to-day acts that foster an inclusive community on the campus.

Rebecca Niemiec and Jerry Vaske

Article Award

 Niemiec and Vaske were awarded for their outstanding article in the journal Society and Natural Resources. Niemiec, R. M., Champine, V., Vaske, J. J., & Mertens, A. (2020). Does the Impact of Norms Vary by Type of Norm and Type of Conservation Behavior? A Meta-Analysis. Society & Natural Resources, 1-17.

Outside Awards

Brianne Lauro

Truman and Udal Scholar

Lauro has been listed on the Dean’s list four out of five times in her academic career and has also won the college’s R.S. Knaub Science Award for sustainability innovation. Currently, she is a congressional intern at U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse’s district office in Fort Collins and a research assistant for a National Science Foundation study on Indigenous data stewardship led by Dominique David-Chavez.

Vitoria Dante

Colorado Governor’s Tourism Conference Scholarship

Kathryn Powlen

SWG Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research

The Society of Woman Geographers (SWG) Evelyn L. Pruitt National Fellowship for Dissertation Research has awarded PhD Candidate Kathryn Powlen’s dissertation focuses on understanding the factors that shape protected area performance globally and in Mexico. 

Kelly Jones

Fulbright Scholar Fellowship: Colombia

The overarching goal of Dr. Jones’ Fulbright Scholarship in Colombia is to contribute to addressing knowledge gaps about how conservation approaches, specifically protected areas, impact forest outcomes during conflict and post-conflict situations, and in turn, enhance fundamental understanding about environmental governance and land systems science.

Ryan Finchum

National Association for Interpretation President’s Award

Finchum has been awarded for his efforts in organizing a global conservation conference amidst a challenging political landscape in Brazil, his work as Co-Director of CPAM, and their global conservation successes.

Congratulations to our nominees!

Megan Jones                      Warner College Diversity and Inclusion Award

Lina Xiong                            Warner College Diversity and Inclusion Award

Sylvia Johnson                   Robert Davis Honor Senior Memorial Award

Emily Sinkular                    Undergraduate Research Award Department of HDNR with Department of FRS

Shelby Fitzgerald              Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award

Jacqie Hasan                      Outstanding Administrative Staff Award

Dawson Metcalf                Outstanding Administrative Staff Award

Ricky Berl                             Outstanding Research Support Award

Becky Niemiec                   Dean’s Award for Excellence to an Early Career Faculty Member

Outreach and Conference Team (Claire, Wes, and student interns)             Warner College Team Award