Retirement reception honors Richard Crawford today Richard Crawford, Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor of Biology, will retire at the end of 32 years as a faculty member at UND. During this time, he has established himself as an expert in avian wildlife management and restoration ecology. He and his students have studied birds in their natural habitats around the globe. Recently he has focused his studies on the ecology of native prairies. Please join us in wishing Rich and Glinda Crawford well during a reception beginning at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, in the North Dakota Museum of Art. Crawford's teaching and scholarship has been recognized by his being named Chester Fritz Distinguished Professor in 1997 and receiving the Thomas J. Clifford Award for outstanding research in the same year. He also has been recognized for his teaching and service by receiving the B.C. Gamble and UND Alumni Award in 1983 and received the North Dakota Award from the North Dakota Chapter of the Wildlife Society in 1992. He served as president of this group and is an elective member of the American Ornithologists' Union. Crawford completed his undergraduate education at Northeast Missouri State University (now Truman State University) followed by a M.A. degree in zoology in 1969 at the same institution. After two years of service as a medic in the Army, he entered the doctoral program at Iowa State University and received a Ph.D. in wildlife biology in 1975. He joined the biology faculty at UND in 1975. Rich is married to Glinda Crawford, professor emerita of sociology and environmental studies, who retired after 30 years on the UND faculty. They live with their daughter, Melanie, formerly an elementary teacher in Grand Forks, and share a commitment to organic food production and gardening and living lightly on the land. They also are committed to maintaining and restoring native prairie habitat. Crawford's primary teaching responsibilities at the undergraduate and graduate level have been in the areas of ornithology and wildlife biology. He also has been a major force in the direction and supervision of the undergraduate fisheries and wildlife biology degree program. He has served as advisor to 10 Ph.D., one D.A, and 30 M.S. students as well as many undergraduate students. The research efforts of Crawford and his students have resulted in the publication of 67 journal articles for which he is author or co-author and an additional significant number of publications from his students for research efforts supervised by him. His research and that of his students has been supported by a variety of funding agencies, most notably the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Federal Highway Administration and N.D. Department of Game and Fish. In addition, the research of his students has been supported by the Delta Waterfowl Research Station and the Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources. He served as chair of the biology department on two different occasions, and has served on virtually every committee within the department and also on many significant college and university committees as well. He has been involved in the development and direction of other academic programs on campus. He served on the founding committees for academic programs in peace studies, women studies and environmental studies: the sole faculty member on campus to serve in this triple capacity. Throughout his time at UND, he has been a member of the Institute of Ecological Studies and has served as its director. Rich, Glinda and Melanie will relocate to a small, 40-acre farm in north Missouri near where Rich and Glinda grew up. They plan to implement ideas to assist themselves and others to live a more sustainable lifestyle. He plans to continue his hobbies of bird watching, woodworking and reading. They will be missed in our community! — Ike Schlosser, professor and chair of biology.