Education:

• Ph.D., Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1976.
• M.S., Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 1971.
• B.S., Biology, Anthropology, and Secondary Education, Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, NM, 1967.

Honors/Awards:

• Joseph Grinnell Award, an international award presented by the American Society of Mammalogists to honor individuals who have made outstanding and sustained contributions to education in mammalogy over a period of at least 10 years.  The award recognizes excellence in education in the broadest sense, 2014.
• Lifetime Achievement Award, Southeastern Bat Diversity Network, in recognition of a lifetime of significant contributions to research and conservation of bats in the southeastern United States, 2010
• George Miksch Sutton Award in Conservation Research, an international award presented by the Southwestern Association of Naturalists to recognize an outstanding publication related to conservation, 2009.
• Founders Award, Colloquium on the Conservation of Mammals in the Southeastern United States (presented to founders of this organization), 2009
• Alumni Professor, Auburn University, 1999-2004.
• Outstanding Professor, Auburn University Panhellenic Council, 1996.  One of 18 awardees selected by this organization of nationally chartered sororities to recognize a "determination to foster knowledge in the minds of students."
• Donald W. Tinkle Research Excellence Award, The Southwestern Association of Naturalists, 1995.  This award is presented to "a scientist who has made significant contributions to the understanding of the biota of the Southwest and Latin America through scientific publications."
• Faculty Advisor, Auburn University Chapter of Beta Beta Beta National Biological Honor Society, 1991 to present.

Research/Interests:

The primary focus of my research is on the ecology and systematics of vertebrates.  I have conducted extensive field work in the southwestern United States and Mexico, primarily related to ecology and systematic studies of bats, heteromyid rodents, and other desert species.  For the past 15 years, my research also has included studies of the ecology of birds and reptiles in New Mexico, and the ecology of bats in Alabama, Mississippi, Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico.

In collaboration with M. J. Harvey (Tennessee Technological University) and J. S. Altenbach (University of New Mexico), we produced three full-color, 24 by 36-inch posters on bats for distribution to the general public by private, state, and federal organizations throughout the United States (Bats of Alabama, Bats of the Eastern United States, and Bats of the Western United States). These posters contain photographs of 45 species of bats that occur in the United States (photos are by J. S. Altenbach) and the back side of each poster has information including distribution, ecology, reproductive biology, and behavior of each species shown on the front. About 200,000 copies are being distributed by sponsoring organizations.

Courses Taught:

• BIOL-2500 Human Anatomy and Physiology I (4 hours, summer)
• BIOL-2510 Human Anatomy and Physiology II (4 hours, fall)
• BIOL-5760/6760 Mammalogy (4 hours, fall)
• BIOL-5160/6160 Field Biology and Ecology (4 hours, summer)
• BIOL-7060 Advanced Mammalogy (4 hours, alternating fall)
• BIOL-7980 Ecology and Behavior of Bats (3 hours, irregular)
• BIOL-7980 Desert Mammals (3 hours, summer)
• BIOL-4980 Undergraduate Research (2-4 hours, fall, spring, summer)