CONWAY, Ark. (March 21, 2014) – Environmental studies major
Jay Stanley ’16 is
the inaugural recipient of the new Scott Henderson Research Fellowship.
The fellowship was established by Hendrix alumnus Randy
Wilbourn ’68, a
member of the Hendrix Board of Trustees, and his wife Judy, as an extension of
Wilbourn’s interest in Arkansas’s natural resources and engaged learning at
Hendrix. Wilbourn created the award in honor of Scott Henderson, who led the
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission Foundation (AGFCF).
“Through this research fellowship our student will gain an
understanding of and appreciation for the mission and work of the Arkansas Game
and Fish Commission,” said Hendrix biology and environmental studies professor
Dr. Joyce Hardin. “The experience will provide him with an opportunity to
connect the knowledge he has acquired in the classroom and laboratory to some of
the issues that confront the game and non-game animal species in
Arkansas.”
With the award, Stanley will spend six weeks this summer as
an AGFCF intern. Stanley will tour the Natural State observing the agency’s
program biologists from different specialties (e.g. waterfowl, bears, etc.). He
will receive Odyssey credit in Professional and Leadership Development for
completing the fellowship.
A North Little Rock native, Stanley “grew up around the
outdoors,” canoeing the Buffalo National River and fishing, hiking, and hunting
with his parents near the family’s land in north Arkansas.
Originally a computer science major, Stanley’s passion for
environmental studies was confirmed in the classroom. He cites his Buddhism
class, reading Ishmael by Daniel
Quinn, and sociology professor Dr. Stella Capek’s Food, Culture and Nature
course as formative academic experiences that reconnected him to his early love
of the environment in Arkansas.
Last summer, Stanley completed a 10-day course through the
National Outdoor Leadership School, where he was certified as a wilderness
first responder. He is considering becoming certified as a wilderness emergency
medical technician (EMT).
After Hendrix, he hopes to go to graduate school and teach
environmental science. The Henderson Research Fellowship will give him some
useful field-based research experience.
“With this fellowship, I want to become more acquainted
with the practical application of what I’ve been studying,” he said.
Stanley is also excited for the opportunity to work closely
with an agency with a role in wildlife protection and enforcement
“They have a distinguished purpose to protect our ecology
and ecosystems,” said Stanley. “As a hunter and fisherman, my father always
respected game wardens. They’re part of a regulatory agency that has best
interest of Arkansas as the Natural State at heart.”
Founded in 1876, Hendrix College is a national leader in
engaged liberal arts and sciences education. For the sixth consecutive year,
Hendrix was named one of the country’s “Up and Coming” liberal arts colleges by
U.S. News and World Report. Hendrix is featured in the latest edition of Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change
the Way You Think about Colleges,
as well as the 2014 Princeton Review’s The Best 378 Colleges, Forbes magazine's list of America's Top Colleges, and
the 2014 Fiske Guide to Colleges. Hendrix has been affiliated with the United
Methodist Church since 1884. For more information, visit www.hendrix.edu.