Dave Samuel may have retired from West Virginia University before George Merovich began his teaching career, but they’re linked by a passion for teaching students about wildlife.

They’re also linked by a fund created in Samuel’s name to honor outstanding educators in WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design.

Merovich, a teaching assistant professor of wildlife and fisheries resources, has received the Samuel Faculty Excellence Award. Each year the $1,000 award is presented to an educator in the Davis College who has demonstrated outstanding performance in the areas of teaching, research and service.

“I know that this is a prestigious award, so it’s truly an understatement to say that I’m honored to receive it and be mentioned among the likes of Dr. Samuel, who is a world-renowned wildlife professor, educator and author,” Merovich said. “It means a lot to be recognized based on these criteria.”

“George has consistently demonstrated his a commitment to a career in teaching through excellence in teaching, innovation in the classroom and the involvement of his students in experiential learning opportunities that go well beyond what would normally be expected of a faculty teaching professor,” said Joe McNeel, director of the Davis College’s Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, home to the wildlife and fisheries resources program.

The award was created to honor Samuel, a professor emeritus from the Davis College, who devoted more than 30 years of service to the wildlife and fisheries resources program at WVU.

Since his retirement in 1998, Samuel has donated an extensive wildlife collection to the Division of Forestry and Natural Resources, on display at the Westvaco Natural Resources Center in the WVU Forest. His mother, Mary Grace, established the Mary Grace Samuel Endowment Fund for support of the Student Chapter of the Wildlife Society at WVU.

The Samuel Award was created through the WVU Foundation, a private non-profit corporation that generates and provides support for WVU.

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dw/04/10/12

CONTACT: David Welsh, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design
304-293-2394, dwelsh@wvu.edu

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