Neves and Trauger Honored As Emeritus
Richard Neves and David Trauger were each conferred the title “professor emeritus” by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors this past fall. The title of emeritus may be conferred on retired professors and exceptional staff members who have given exemplary service to the university and who are specially recommended to the board of visitors by President Charles Steger.
Richard Neves, professor of fisheries and wildlife sciences, is an internationally recognized expert on freshwater mussels. His three decades of research integrated knowledge from the fields of malacology, freshwater ecology, phycology, physiology, fisheries science, and aquaculture to achieve noteworthy contributions to our understanding of freshwater mussel biology. He has written more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles, as well as a number of book chapters and keynote addresses, and co-edited a book.
Neves has served on the editorial boards of the American Malacological Society, American Fisheries Society, and Society for Conservation Biology; was president of the Virginia Natural History Society and the Freshwater Mussel Conservation Society; and was a trustee of the Virginia Museum of Natural History. He has also been recognized with several awards, including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Research Director’s Conservation Award and a Director’s Commendation. In 2001, The Nature Conservancy named him as one of the top 10 conservationists in America.
David Trauger, former director of the National Capital Region’s Natural Resources Program, has played a key role in recruiting faculty members and enrolling new students for the program at the Falls Church, Va., campus. Trauger also served as interim associate dean of the Graduate School for the National Capital Region from 2007 to 2008, and provided 13 years of dedicated service to the College of Natural Resources as a member of its advisory board. He developed and taught courses in conservation ecology, sustainability science, global issues in natural resources, modern wildlife management, land use planning, and ecosystem management. His research focused on wildlife management through studies of waterfowl and of the balance between economic growth and biodiversity conservation.
Prior to his arrival at Virginia Tech, Trauger spent 32 years working in natural resource agencies of the Department of the Interior, including an appointment as chief of the Division of Wildlife Research for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Washington, D.C.
5/12/09