The head of Mississippi State's wildlife, fisheries and aquaculture department is a new Fellow in The Wildlife Society.
Bruce D. Leopold is being recognized for exceptional service to the wildlife profession. He long has been active in several professional organizations, including service in 2009 as Wildlife Society president.
Leopold's university research areas include predator-prey relationships, habitat management, and population ecology and monitoring. Earlier this year, he was honored with the Henry S. Mosby Award for outstanding research by the National Wild Turkey Federation.
In addition to serving as department head, he is co-director of the regional Berryman Institute, which works to improve human-wildlife relationships and resolve human-wildlife conflict through teaching, research and extension service.
"Bruce Leopold is an exceptional administrator and truly desires to train the next generation of wildlife biologists in the important principles of conservation," said College of Forest Resources Dean George Hopper. "Bruce is dedicated to his department, the college and the university."
Leopold recently donated 140 acres in Noxubee County to the college through the Bulldog Forest program, which enables landowners to create a lasting legacy by giving land to the land-grant institution.
In addition to a doctorate from the University of Arizona, he holds a master's degree from MSU and a bachelor's from Pennsylvania State University.
Founded in 1937, The Wildlife Society is an international scientific and educational organization representing more than 9,100 wildlife professionals. (For more, visit www.wildlife.org.)
