The Cooper Ornithological Society is pleased to name Dr. Brett K. Sandercock as an Honorary Member, for his outstanding service to the Society and to ornithology. Brett is currently Professor of Wildlife Ecology at Kansas State University. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia, his Masters at the University of Alberta, and his Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University. After receiving his Ph.D., he held postdoctoral positions at the University of California Berkeley and the University of British Columbia, before taking his current position in Kansas.
Dr. Sandercock's main research interests are in the areas of population biology, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary biology. He has used long-term demographic studies to investigate the evolution of vertebrate life history strategies and the behavioral ecology of mating systems and parental care. In addition, he has expertise in two specialized areas of quantitative statistics: mark-recapture statistics for estimation of demographic parameters, and matrix models for analyses of population dynamics, and has applied these models to address questions in basic and applied ecology. His main taxonomic expertise is the population ecology of birds, especially grouse and migratory shorebirds.
His other honors include Fellow of the American Ornithologists' Union, the Edwards Prize for best article in the Wilson Bulletin (2010), the publication award for outstanding article in Journal of Wildlife Management (2014), and the outstanding graduate faculty award (2009 and 2011) and the William Stamey Award for undergraduate teaching (2012 and 2015) from Kansas State University.
Dr. Sandercock has made important contributions to the publication mission of the Cooper Ornithological Society through his leadership of Studies in Avian Biology (SAB). His involvement began with his role as a Co-editor of Studies in Avian Biology Volume 39, Ecology, Conservation, and Management of Northern Grouse, which was published in 2011. Shortly after shepherding 37 manuscripts through the publication process for the grouse volume, he became Series Editor for Studies in Avian Biology and served from 2010 to 2015. During that time he negotiated the transition of SAB production from the University of California Press to CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group. He has guided six volumes into the production process at CRC Press and has established a positive working relationship with the publisher that will serve the Cooper Society into the future.
Thus, the Cooper Ornithological Society is proud to award Honorary Membership to Dr. Brett K. Sandercock for his outstanding contributions to our Society and to ornithology.
The Cooper Ornithological Society is pleased to bestow Honorary Membership on Dr. Susan K. Skagen, for her past outstanding service to the Society and to ornithology. Susan is and has been a research wildlife biologist with the Fort Collins Science Center (USGS) since 1988. She received her undergraduate degree in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, her Masters in Biology from Western Washington University, and in 1986 her Ph.D. in Zoology/Wildlife Ecology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Susan held a post-doctoral position at the University of Washington Seattle 1986–1988. She is also a faculty affiliate in the Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and Graduate Degree Program in Ecology at Colorado State University.
Susan's research interests are in avian ecology and conservation. Her research program is broad and includes studies to estimate effects of climate change on avian populations and communities and to forecast effects of agricultural practices on prairie wetlands, as well as studies on migration stopover ecology in riparian and wetland systems, and demography of declining prairie bird populations. She is the lead author or co-author of more than 49 scientific peer-reviewed publications, including 10 in The Condor and 1 in Studies in Avian Biology, and almost 30 reports, proceedings papers, and other technical publications. Susan was elected an American Ornithologists' Union Fellow in 2005. Not only is Susan an accomplished research ecologist, she has also taken leadership roles in management and policy realms as Co-chair of the Monitoring Committee for the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan and Co-chair of the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM, 2006–2010). She is currently serving as a member of the NABCI-Monitoring Subcommittee, the NABCI Data Management Team, the Executive Board of the U.S. Shorebird Planning Council, and the Playa Lakes Joint Venture Scientific Advisory Team.
Susan became a member of the Cooper Ornithological Society in 1986 and has been continuously active in the Society since the early 2000s when she was first elected to the Board of Directors (2001–2003). She served on the Board of Directors again 2009–2012 and served as the Miller Award Chair (2002–2003), Student Presentation Awards Committee Chair (2009–2011), Chair of the Young Professional Awards Committee (2010–2011), Co-chair of the Local Committee for the 2014 Joint Meeting with the AOU and CSO in Estes Park, CO. She actively participates in annual meetings and has also organized 3 special symposia for COS meetings: Grassland Bird Symposium 2015, Norman, OK; Migration Symposium 2007, Moscow, ID; and Migration and Stopover Ecology Symposium, 2004, La Crosse, WI. The 2004 series of talks resulted in a special section in the 2005 Condor. She was also Co-chair of the Challenges of Intercontinental Migration Symposium, at the 2006 North American Ornithological Conference (NAOC-IV) in Veracruz, Mexico.
Thus, the Cooper Ornithological Society is proud to award Honorary Membership to Dr. Susan K. Skagen for her outstanding contributions to our Society and to ornithology.
