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William A. Calder III Memorial Scholarship

Criteria:

Citizen of Mexico
         Preference: intent to pursue career in Mexico
Graduate Student at the University of Arizona
         Preference: Ph.D. candidate
Research related to Conservation Biology
         Preference: focus on ornithology

Application Materials:

Curriculum Vitae
Transcript of Graduate Studies at the University of Arizona
Personal Statement (2 pages), including:
         Current research focus
         Research goals for remainder of graduate study, especially for Academic Year 2006-07
         Future goals, highlighting connections to Conservation Biology
Budget Proposal (1 page)
Two Letters of Reference (one from Major Advisor)

Recipient must be able to provide documentation of Mexican citizenship.  Recipient is expected to expend full scholarship amount during the academic year awarded.  If recipient wishes to significantly deviate from proposed budget, they are asked to contact Professor Rob Robichaux in EEB for approval.  Should equipment be purchased with award money, ownership of the equipment will remain with the University, but will be available for purchaser’s use throughout their graduate career and employment at the University, as long as it is being used for research purposes.  A culminating event including all ‘Calder Scholars’ will take place at the end of the academic year, at which recipients will be expected to present a summary of their research progress and accomplishments during the award year.

At various times in his life, Bill Calder was a smoke-jumper for the Forest Service, a pilot in the U.S. Coastguard, and Park Ranger and Naturalist in Grand Teton and Glacier National Parks. He earned his Masters Degree in Zoology from Washington State University in 1963 and his Ph.D. as a National Science Foundation Scholar in Zoology from Duke University in 1966.  Dr. Calder began his teaching career with the University of Arizona in 1969, teaching until he was taken so suddenly by leukemia in 2002. He was a Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences and the author of many scientific papers and textbook chapters. He was nationally and internationally recognized as an expert on hummingbirds, and delighted in educating the general public. He reached across the border to foster scientific collaboration with his colleagues in Mexico.  He especially supported opportunities for women and people of color in academic biology, and he established several scholarships to broaden academic opportunities and inspire students who might not otherwise have pursued scientific study.  Bill lived and taught passionately, combining his unbridled enthusiasm for scientific enquiry with deeply held personal ethics and compassionate human values. He was a tireless advocate and generous philanthropist for social equality, environmental conservation, and non-violent resolution of human conflict. He served on the Boards of Directors of numerous local and national conservation organizations. He loved music and was a founding member of the Tucson Mandolin Society. Bill is known as a man who truly lived by the principles he advocated, and did so with an abiding integrity and honesty that has deeply influenced many, much more than he knew. He lived his life with deep compassion for everyone around him, and he met life’s challenges and even his own illness with a wry humor, humility, and optimism that will be long remembered.