Newsroom

CORVALLIS - Bruce Dugger, an assistant professor in the Oregon State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, has been named recipient of the Bob and Phyllis Mace Watchable Wildlife Professorship at OSU.

This endowed position was held for the past five years by Dan Edge, who is a professor and chair of OSU's fisheries and wildlife department.

Dugger has been at OSU since 2002, where he teaches and conducts research about the ecology, conservation and management of water birds and their wetland habitats.

As the Mace endowed professor, Dugger says he has plans to conduct research on wetland birds, finding ways to collaborate with scientists from multiple agencies and conduct workshops on wetland management for wildlife, with strong consideration for non-game species.

"I'd like to try and get away from the dichotomy of 'game' versus 'non-game' labels," said Dugger. "All species are interrelated. For true conservation, we can't just consider one group of organisms while ignoring the others and their habitats."

A native of southern California, Dugger earned his bachelor of science degree in fisheries and wildlife from the University of California at Davis and his master's and doctorate in wildlife ecology from the University of Missouri at Columbia.

The Mace Watchable Wildlife Professorship is awarded in five-year increments. Mace, now retired, was once the deputy director of the Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. He graduated from OSU in fisheries and wildlife in 1942.

"Mace first coined the phrase 'watchable wildlife,' and permanently changed the way many people think of small animals and birds, from robins and raccoons to salamanders and frogs," said Dugger. "Until that time the only term used for wildlife not sought by hunters was 'non-game,' a term that did not reflect the ecological or social value of these species."

In 1993, Mace and his wife Phyllis, a 1943 graduate of the OSU College of Science, established a trust at OSU. In 1997, they decided to have a more immediate impact than a deferred gift would allow. Using income from their trust, the couple provides funding to support not only the Mace professorship, but also two annual scholarships for undergraduates in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU.