Newsroom

UNION, Ore. - An Oregon State University wildlife biologist, who provides scientific information to farmers and ranchers relating to management of endangered species and other wildlife, has received the inaugural Distinguished Agriscience Scientist Award from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation

Patricia "Pat" L. Kennedy is one of two recipients of the honor, along with Maryland hydrologist Thomas J. Jackson. Both will receive $25,000 stipends as part of their award.

The Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation is a federal organization established by Congress to encourage and support research. The Agriscience Awards, which are presented in conjunction with the American Farm Bureau Federation, recognize scientists, educators and others who display excellence in agricultural sciences.

Kennedy is one of the few wildlife biologists in the country to be stationed at an Agricultural Experiment Station. She is a professor in the OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife who works out of the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Center in Union, Ore., where she is a resource for the cattle industry and others on questions relating to the sustainability of livestock grazing, as well as threatened and endangered species.

Her position was created through an allocation by the Oregon legislature, at the request of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association, to fund a research ecologist who could evaluate contentious issues with rigorous science.

"Pat Kennedy is renowned for her practical and proactive approach to wildlife management," said Dan Edge, head of the OSU Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. "She has built bridges between the wildlife community and the ranching community in Eastern Oregon that had not previously existed."

Kennedy has been on the OSU faculty since 2002.