Wildlife Professor Brings Africa to the Classroom

Lions. Crocodiles. Elephants. You might come across these on an African safari, but certainly not at Virginia Tech. Right? Well, not until Kathleen Alexander arrived from Botswana. Alexander, who joined the college this fall as an associate professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, integrates her African research studies in the class she teaches on infectious disease ecology.

“I’d like students to look at infectious disease as an ecological factor affecting the ecosystem and not simply the process of looking for animals that are dead or sick. Just as one needs to know about water, prey, and vegetation, ecologists also need to know about infections disease, because we’re finding in many instances, coupled with other variables, infectious disease is one of the determining factors of a population’s survival,” said Alexander.

Her research is directed at better understanding the human wildlife interface in Africa with a focus on infectious disease dynamics, wildlife conflict and identifying new ways to integrate local communities into management of natural resources. Alexander lived and worked in Botswana for over 17 years, where one third of the population lives below the poverty line. Botswana’s wildlife resources provide much of the country’s tourist-based revenue, but wildlife is increasingly a source of conflict to local communities as they cause severe damage property and rural livelihoods.

Together with her husband, Mark Alexander, (a newly appointed adjunct professor in the college), Alexander designed, developed, and managed a regional conservation research program for Northern Botswana through her role as president of the Centre for Conservation of African Resources: Animals, Communities and Land Use (CARACAL). CARACAL’s program is directed at securing the health of Northern Botswana’s ecosystems and sustainable use of natural resources in rural areas. Alexander’s work there included wildlife health and ecology, community based natural resource management, wildlife conflict resolution, endangered species management, wildlife capture, ecosystem management and training of citizens and government officers to manage natural resource more effectively.

In addition to her work with CARACAL, Alexander was the senior wildlife veterinary officer for the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Kasane, Botswana. There, she established a Wildlife Veterinary Unit responsible for delivering wildlife health services to the entire country. She also served as the ecological adviser in the office of the president of Botswana.

Alexander maintains her position with the organization and hopes to involve the Virginia Tech community with CARACAL in Botswana. Her paper, “Emerging disease and transmission of human pathogens to free ranging wildlife,” was recognized as one of the Top Science Stories of 2002 in Discover: The Year in Science. “One of the things I’d really like to do is to get students to start thinking about the real world application of what they’re being trained in. Instead of only thinking about research or where their career will go, students should focus on how to take what they’ve learned and make a difference in the world,” she said.

“ I’d like students to start thinking about the policy framework, international convention and other issues which influence natural resources management. I plan to take examples from Africa and present situations to students so that they can apply what they are learning to real problems, making education a real world exercise” said Alexander.

She will be taking this further as she develops a field course in Botswana which will allow students to immerse themselves in real world conservation problems. Currently, Alexander’s children and husband are with her in the United States. The whole family will be traveling between Virginia and Botswana as they continue their work in Africa and now, Virginia.