In
recognition of his teaching efforts with the environmental biology and wetlands
curriculum, Dr. Oliver Pergams, Professor in the Department of Biology at
Olive-Harvey College, was recently awarded the Innovative Excellence in
Teaching, Learning and Technology award by the International Conference on
College Teaching and Learning (ICCTL) at its annual conference which took place
April 8-12 at the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa in PonteVedra Beach,
Florida.
Pergams
is one of 18 educators who won the award which is now in its 20th
year of honoring full-time faculty who have contributed in the most highly
creative ways to teaching, learning and technology.
“I am
honored to receive this award and to have been nominated by Olive-Harvey
College. It is wonderful encouragement to motivate me to do my best teaching
and mentoring,” Pergams said.
A conservation
scientist, Pergams holds research appointments at the University of Illinois at
Chicago and the Field Museum. Dr. Pergams views conservation as a
problem-focused discipline, and has used many different methods to solve
various conservation problems. For example, these methods come from biology
(molecular genetics including ancient
DNA, morphometrics and extinction prediction) as well as the social sciences
(sociology & economics).
In addition, Pergams
has published more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific articles in prestigious
journals such as Nature and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and has written several book chapters and encyclopedia
articles. Dr. Pergams has testified as an expert witness before Congress and
has given numerous presentations, sometimes as keynote speaker.
During his career in
conservation he has received a number of awards, including a U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency STAR Fellowship, a David H. Smith Conservation Research
Fellowship, and a U.S. Department of State Fulbright Senior Lecturing/Research
Award.
“We’re proud that Dr. Pergams has
been honored for his efforts in teaching and we know that because of his
attention to our students that it will result in more students completing their
studies at Olive-Harvey and furthering their education and career goals,” says
Dr. Craig T. Follins, President of Olive-Harvey College.