The Purdue Department of Forestry and Natural Resources has selected six individuals to be honored for their career achievements at an awards ceremony in April 2025.
Dr. John A. Kershaw Jr. (BSF 1984, MS 1986) and Betty Jane “BJ” Meadows (MS 1963) were selected as the department’s 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award honorees. Dr. Jacob Goheen (MS 2002) was named as the FNR Distinguished Alumni Award winner and Dr. Ken Kellner (MS 2012, PhD 2015) was chosen as FNR’s Outstanding Young Alumni recipient.
In addition, Dr. Joe Robb (BSF 1982) will be honored with the Chase S. Osborn Award in Wildlife Conservation, while Dr. Zackary Delisle (PhD 2023) will receive the Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The FNR Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes those who have made significant contributions to natural resources through professional accomplishment, activity in professional organizations, community service work and other activities which makes them a credit to their profession.
Dr. John A. Kershaw Jr. has made his impact in the fields of forest measurements and biometrics as well as university administration. Kershaw, who received his Bachelor of Science in forestry from Purdue in 1984 and Master of Science in forestry in 1986, has served as a professor of forest mensuration at the University of New Brunswick for more than 30 years. He also has taken on the roles of director of graduate studies in the department of forestry and environmental management, associate dean of graduate students and currently as assistant vice president of global partnerships. Kershaw also has served the forestry profession in leadership roles with the Association of Registered Professional Foresters in New Brunswick and the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and currently as co-editor-in-chief for the Forest Ecosystems journal.
“I was very honored to receive this award,” Kershaw said. “To be included with Steve Shifley, Mary Beth Adams, Rolf Peterson, Stephen Creech and the others made this even more special. Purdue opened so many doors for me and set me on my career path. None of this would be possible without the dedication and encouragement of professors and fellow classmates.”
BJ Meadows blazed a trail for women in forestry at Purdue, becoming the first female recipient of a master’s degree in forestry in 1963. After completing her degree, Meadows spent more than 30 years in the K-12
educational space in Jefferson County, Colorado, as a teacher, administrator and innovator in collaborative leadership. She was instrumental in incorporating field biology and later environmental education into the curriculum and developing several supplemental programs to introduce students to the outdoors. Meadows then spent 10 years as an evaluator for the National Science Foundation and served on various advisory boards and task forces. She also wrote two books and, in retirement, has continued to promote education, helping develop the curriculum and acting as a facilitator for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through the University of Denver.
“I’m most grateful to be a recipient of the FNR reward for 2024,” Meadows said. “As the first woman to receive a master’s degree in wildlife management from Purdue, I am delighted that women are currently being successful in this area. I am celebrating with them and sending them deep support.”
FNR Distinguished Alumni Award
The FNR Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes alumni for demonstrating a record of outstanding accomplishments, having made significant contributions to their profession or society in general and exhibiting high potential for future professional growth.
Dr. Jacob Goheen, who received his master’s degree from Purdue in 2002, has contributed to the education of students, professionals and fellow scientists both domestically and internationally through teaching, research and outreach efforts. Goheen’s award-winning ecological and conservation research, through professorships at the University of British Columbia and currently at the University of Wyoming, has resulted in more than 100 peer-reviewed articles. He also is devoted to training the next generation of natural resources leaders in wildlife science and conservation. His former students have gone on to become leaders in natural resources in both academia, non-government organizations and wildlife management agencies across the globe, including standout scientists like Abdullahi Hussein Ali and Caroline Ng’weno, who have been vital in the persistence of endangered species and alternative management techniques in Africa. Goheen partners with the National Museums of Kenya to provide internship opportunities for aspiring African conservation biologists and with the American Society of Mammalogists to establish the African Research Fellowship, which provides funding to African scientists working on the ecology, conservation and evolution of African mammals.
“I was quite struck by this award and it came as a real surprise,” Goheen said. “I know several of the other recipients well, and am honored that folks found me sufficiently deserving for nomination into that same category.”
FNR Outstanding Young Alumni Award
The FNR Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes the accomplishments of alumni who have excelled in professional and civic accomplishments and have graduated from Purdue FNR within the last 15 years.
Dr. Ken Kellner, who earned his master’s degree (2012) and PhD (2015) from Purdue and completed two years
as a postdoc in the program, works in the fields of population modeling, ecosystem responses to disturbance and mammal conservation. He has published numerous articles on wildlife ecology and biometrics and developed many open-source tools in the R programming language for other scientists to use for reproducible research. FNR’s 2021 Chase S. Osborn Wildlife Conservation Early Career Award recipient, Kellner literally wrote the book on applied statistical modeling for ecologists using Bayesian statistics, coauthoring a 2024 publication on the topic. Currently a research assistant professor at Michigan State University after a three-year stint as a research scientist at the State University of New York (SUNY) – College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Kellner has impacted the field of natural resources by working as a reviewer for more than 20 journals.
“I'm humbled and grateful to receive this award from Purdue FNR,” Kellner said. “My advisors, professors, and colleagues at FNR taught me how to be a good scientist. I aim to continue to work hard and make them proud.”
Chase S. Osborn Award in Wildlife Conservation
The Chase S. Osborn Award in Wildlife Conservation, which was established in 1952 by former Purdue President Edward C. Elliot, is presented by Purdue FNR to an individual who, by writing, research, teaching or other personal accomplishments has made distinctive contributions to wildlife conservation in the state of Indiana. The award has been presented 37 times since its inception in 1953.
Dr. Joe Robb, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Forestry from Purdue in 1982, has spent the last
26 years serving the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the Big Oaks and Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuges. He has mentored more than 160 interns over the years and taught conservation courses at The Ohio State University and Hanover College, impacting the next generation of natural resource professionals. His efforts to establish youth deer and turkey hunts at Big Oaks led the way for similar hunts across the state. The certified wildlife biologist was instrumental in discovering, helping conserve and even doubling the population of the state endangered crawfish frog at Big Oaks. He also has authored numerous publications on a variety of species and management techniques including a recent guide to implementing adaptive management in the National Wildlife Refuge System. He helped establish both the non-profit land trust Oak Heritage Conservancy in southeastern Indiana and the non-profit refuge friend group, Big Oaks Conservation Society. Robb also has served the field of natural resources through his work with the Indiana Chapter of the Wildlife Society, for which he acted as president in 2006, and through his work as a reviewer for several journals and publications.
“I feel really honored to be awarded the Chase S. Osborn Award for Wildlife Conservation,” Robb said. “Wildlife Conservation is by no means an individual effort and this award equally belongs to my mentors, partners and co-workers as we strive and fight for wildlife conservation in Indiana. As I look thru the list of prior award winners, I see several names of those who have taught and mentored me and I feel blessed to be included in such a remarkable list.”
Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award
The Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award, established in 2021, is presented to an individual who, by writing, research, teaching or other personal accomplishments has made significant contributions to wildlife conservation in the state of Indiana.
Dr. Zackary Delisle, a 2023 PhD alumnus with a concentration in wildlife science, has enhanced scientifically
based management of white-tailed deer in Indiana by improving understanding of population behavior and ecology of the species. His PhD research was so valuable to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources that he was hired as a DNR deer research biologist immediately after graduation. To date, Delisle has published 19 papers, including 12 for his work on deer, many appearing in top-tier journals for researchers and wildlife professionals. His research has been instrumental for enacting deer reduction zones and determining annual harvest limits. His publications also have broader implications for management of ungulates worldwide. Delisle is currently an ecologist with the National Park Service in Alaska, researching Dall’s sheep and brown bear.
“After being notified of my selection for this award, I spent some time reading about Chase Osborn and watching videos of past recipients of the Chase S. Osborn Early Career Award,” Delisle said. “What an incredible group of past recipients; many names that I recognize from the references I've used in my own work or my broad science readings. In short, I am very grateful to be given this distinction. It really does mean a lot to me and encourages me to continue to push hard and try to make a difference for our increased understanding of wildlife ecology and management.”
