Several past and recent lab alums were able to surprise Don with a retirement Party on April 25th. His official retirement isn’t until the end of May, but being sneaky we had a party early.
Don started working as a professor at the University of Michigan for the then School of Natural Resources & Environment in 1988. He has remained a embodied a true professor as not only a celebrated scholar but also a dedicated educator. During his time at Michigan he has won received numerous honors, both for science and teaching, a weathered several Deans and name change to the School for Environment and Sustainability and attended way too many faculty meetings. He taught several courses in both the lab and field, authored/co-authored more than 200 journal articles, contributed and authored chapters in several academic books, was a PI or co-PI on grants totaling more than $21 million dollars, advised more than a dozen post-docs, chaired 16 PhD and 21 MS students to completion. All while raising a family, whom have families of their own now.
This seems to boil down his career at the University of Michigan in a few sentences, but the dedication and scholarly achievements that Don has shown cannot be seen in this post. He’s helped so many students attain their goals by being a true mentor to them. His energy and insight will be missed on campus, but he’ll always be an academic and scientific thinker no matter what. Thank you Don from all the people who’s lives you helped guide and for all the wonders of science you lead others to love and understand.
