Latest News
MSU Kennedy Chair produces 2022-2023 annual report
Download the 2022-2023 Kennedy Chair Annual Report.
Kennedy students participate in 25 year study
Kennedy students were able to participate in a 25 year study led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Alaska District and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska Region.
This year's research team was composed of two scholars from Mississippi State University—Riley Porter, graduate student, and George Williams, undergraduate student.
Read more at https://www.army.mil/article/259604
Alumni
Below is a list of Alumni compiled from past and present students. If you find an error or can add information to an alumni, please contact Karen Brasher
William "Bill" R. Alexander
Degree: M.S. Degree (1988-1990)
Position: Refuge Manager, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bald Knob National Wildlife Refuge
Location: Searcy, AR
Barb (Lercel) Avers
Degree: M.S. Degree (1995-1997)
Position: State Waterfowl Biologist, Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Location: Lansing, MI
Scott Barras
Degree: B.S. & M.S. Degrees (1990-1993)
Position: Virginia State Director, Animal Plant and Health Inspection Services
Location: Moseley, VA
Steve Barry
Degree: M.S. Degree (1990-1992)
Advisor: Richard Kaminski and Ed Hill
Position: Deceased
Michael Brasher
Degree: M.S. Degree (1998-2000)
Position: Biological Team Leader, Gulf Coast Joint Venture
Location: Lafayette, LA
Kevin Brunke
Degree: M.S. Degree (2004-2007)
Thesis: The Role Of Expectations On Waterfowl Hunter Satisfaction
Advisor: Kevin Hunt and Richard Kaminski
Position: Conservation Resources Biologist, Migratory Game Bird Program, Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks
Location: Jackson, MS
James Callicut
Degree: B.S. Degree (2007)
Thesis: Decrescendo Vocalizations Of Female Mallards And Mimicry By Duck Callers
Degree: M.S. Degree (2010)
Position: Conservation Resources Biologist, Waterfowl Program, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks
Location: Jackson, MS
Matt Chouinard
Degree: M.S. Degree (2001-2003)
Position: Staff Biologist, Delta Waterfowl Foundation
Location: Morris, MN
Terrel Christie
Degree: M.S. Degree (2019)
Position: Biological Sciences
Stephan A. Clements
Degree: M.S. Degree (2019)
Position: PhD, WFA, Mississippi State University
Dr. Jose A. Cruz-Burgos
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2000-2005)
Advisor: Francisco Vilella and Richard Kaminski
Position: Wetlands/Wildlife Biologist, Puerto Rico Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Location: San Juan, PR
Dr. J. Brian Davis
Degree: M.S. & Ph.D. Degrees (1995-2001)
Advisor: Richard Kaminski and Bruce Leopold
Position: Assistant Professor, Mississippi State University
Location: Mississippi State, MS
Dean W. Demarest
Degree: M.S. Degree (1990-1993)
Position: Office of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Atlanta, GA
Dr. Jim A. Dubovsky
Degree: M.S. & Ph.D. Degrees (1984-1990)
Position: Central Flyway Representative, Division of Migratory Bird Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Denver, CO
James Feaga
Degree: M.S. Degree (2011-2013)
Thesis: Winter Waterbird Use and Food Resources of Aquaculture Lands in Mississippi
Advisor: Francisco Vilella
Alexis Firth
Degree: M.S. Degree (2018)
Advisor: Beth Baker
David Fishman
Degree: Ph.D. Degree
K. Sarah Fleming
Degree: M.S. Degree (2010)
Position: Regional Biologist, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.
Location: Ann Arbor, MN
Justyn Foth
Degree: M.S. Degree (2010) and Ph.D. Student
Advisor: Francisco Vilella
J. Taylor Gibson
Degree: M.S. Degree (2022)
Thesis: Nesting ecology of Wood Ducks and other cavity-nesting ducks in Mississippi
Advisor: Brian Davis
Dr. David. R. Gordon
Degree: Post-doctoral fellow (1985)
Position: Chief, Branch of Science and Planning, Division of Bird Habitat Conservation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Washington, D.C.
Mattie Graham
Degree: B.S. Degree (2023)
Dr. Brian T. Gray
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (1988-1992)
Position: Assistant Deputy Minister, Science Branch, Environment Canada
Location: Gatineau, Quebec Canada
Matthew J. Gray
Degree: M.S. Degree (1993-1995)
Position: Associate Professor, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee
Location: Knoxville, TN
Heath M. Hagy
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2011)
Thesis: Winter food and waterfowl dynamics in managed moist-soil wetlands in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Position: Director, Frank C. Bellrose Memorial Lab, Illinois Natural History Survey
Location: Havana, IL
J. Houston Havens
Degree: M.S. Degree (2004-2007)
Position: Conservation Resources Biologist, Migratory Game Bird Program Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks
Location: Jackson, MS
Jeremy James
Degree: M.S. Degree (1998-2001)
Advisor: Steve Schoenholtz and Richard Kaminski
Position: Religious minister
Location: Memphis, TN
Molly Kneece
Degree: M.S. Degree (2016)
Position: Wildlife Biologist, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Location: SC
Jennifer P. Kross
Degree: M.S. Degree (2003-2006)
Position: Regional Biologist, Ducks Unlimited Great Plains Regional Office
Location: Bismarck, ND
Brandon Kugle
Degree: B.S. Degree (2023)
Alan Leach
Degree: M.S. Degree (2011)
Thesis: Red Oak Acorn Production, Mass, and Gross Energy Dynamics in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Position: Ph.D. student, University of Nevada
Location: Reno, NE
Charles R. Loesch
Degree: M.S. Degree (1986-1988)
Position: Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Bismarck, ND
Marisel Lopez-Florez
Degree: M.S. Degree (2002-2005)
Advisor: Richard Kaminski and Francisco Vilella
Position: Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: San Juan, PR
Dr. Scott Manley
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (1994-1998)
Position: Director of Conservation Programs, Ducks Unlimited Southern Regional Office
Location: Jackson, MS
Kira Monroe
Degree: M.S. Degree (2014)
Thesis: Survival and habit selection of American Black Ducks in Tennessee (2014)
Position: Monitoring Coordinator, Hummingbird Monitoring Network
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Thera Mullen
Degree: B.S. Degree (2022)
Ryo Ogawa
Degree: M.S. Degree (2017)
Thesis: Spatiotemporal Variation in Space Use by Eastern Wild Turkeys in Mississippi
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2022)
Dissertation: Migration ecology of American White Pelicans: circannual movement, geographic range, and annual survival
Advisor: Guiming Wang
Dr. Aaron T. Pearse
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2002-2007)
Position: Research Wildlife Biologist, Northern Prairie Research Station, U.S. Geological Survey
Location: Jamestown, ND
Edward Penny
Degree: M.S. Degree (2001-2003)
Position: Chief of Wildlife (Wetlands), Mississippi Department of Wildlife Fisheries and Parks
Location: Jackson, MS
Tom Peterson
Degree: M.S. Degree (2014)
Thesis: Wintering waterfowl use of Delta National Forest, Mississippi (2014)
Position: Regional Biologist
Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
David M. Richardson
Degree: M.S. Degree (1987-1989)
Position: Wildlife Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Grenada, MS
Asia Sawyer
Degree: M.S. Degree
Dr. Michael Schummer
Degree: Post-doc (2007-2010)
Position: Research Scientist, Long Point Waterfowl (Bird Studies Canada)
Location: Long Point, Ontario
David E. Sherman
Degree: M.S. Degree (1988-1990)
Position: Biologist, Division of Wildlife, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Location: Columbus, OH
Clay Shipes
Degree: M.S. Student (2014)
Thesis: Aspects of the ecology and management of mottled ducks in Coastal South Carolina (2014)
Advisor: Brian Davis
Position: Wildlife Biologist (Natural Resource Specialist), J. D. Murphree Wildlife Management Area
Location: Port Arthur, TX
Amy Spencer
Degree: M.S. Degree, Ph.D. Degree (2003-2014)
Elizabeth St. James
Degree: M.S. Student (2011)
Thesis: Effect Of Hunting Frequency On Duck Abundance, Harvest, And Hunt Quality In Mississippi
Advisor: Richard Kaminski and Michael Schummer
Position: Ph.D. student, University of Illinois
Location: Champaign-Urbana, IL
Dr. Joshua D. Stafford
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2001-2005)
Position: Assistant Unit Leader, South Dakota Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, South Dakota State University
Location: Brookings, SD
Victoria Starnes
Degree: M.S. Degree (2021)
Advisor: Mike Colvin
Scott Stephens
Degree: M.S. Degree (1992-1995)
Advisor: Bruce Leopold and Richard Kaminski
Position: Director of Conservation, Ducks Unlimited-Canada
Location: Oak Hammock, Manitoba
Jake Straub
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (2008-2012)
Thesis: Estimating and Modeling Red Oak Acorn Yield and Abundance in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley
Position: Assistant Professor, Environmental Science/Ecology
Location: State University of New York-Plattsburgh
Mason Thomas
Degree: M.S. Degree (2023)
Advisor: Brian Davis
Kevin Tillinghast
Degree: M.S. Degree
Adam Tullos
Degree: M.S. Degree (2000)
Advisor: Richard Kaminski and Stephen Grado
Position: Mississippi State University Extension
Location: Verona, MS
Dr. Bill W. Uihlein, III
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (1993-2000)
Position: Assistant Regional Director, Region 4, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Atlanta, GA
Josh Vest
Degree: M.S. Degree (1999-2002)
Position: Science Coordinator, Intermountain West Joint Venture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Missoula, MT
Dr. Mark P. Vrtiska
Degree: Ph.D. Degree (1995)
Position: Waterfowl Program Manager, Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
Location: Lincoln, NE
Mitch Weegman
Degree: B.S. Degree (2010)
Position: Ph.D. student, University of Exeter
Location: Exeter, England
Matt Weegman
Degree: M.S. Degree (2011-2013)
Advisor: Rick Kaminski
Position: Biologist, Ducks Unlimited
Location: Rancho Cordova, CA
Brett Wehrle
Degree: M.S. Degree (1990-1992)
Position: Refuge Manager, Central Louisiana National Wildlife Refuges, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Location: Marksville, LA
Alicia J. Wiseman
Degree: B.S. Degree, M.S. Degree (2006-2009)
Position: Biologist, Ducks Unlimited, South Louisiana Field Station
Location: Lafayette, LA
Dan Zekor
Degree: Research Assistant (1985-1987)
Position: Federal Aid Coordinator, Missouri Department of Conservation
Location: Columbia, MO