Charles Booher, an Honors College junior majoring in fisheries and wildlife in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and public policy in the College of Social Science, is the 12th Udall Scholar to be named from Michigan State University.
Established by Congress in 1992, the Udall Foundation awards scholarships, fellowships and internships for study in fields related to the environment and to Native Americans and Alaska Natives in fields related to health care and Tribal public policy.
“I want to congratulate Charlie on earning the Udall Scholarship and representing Michigan State University in his capacity as a scholar,” said Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore, dean of the Honors College.
Booher is one of 55 students from 50 colleges and universities selected as 2019 Udall Scholars. Each scholarship provides up to $7,000 for the recipient’s junior or senior year.
Booher is from Middleton, Wisconsin, and is a graduate of Middleton High School.
“I am very proud to be recognized with the Udall Scholarship for my commitment to natural resource conservation and plan to use this unique opportunity to help further my undergraduate education here at Michigan State,” Booher said. “I am truly looking forward to joining the 2019 cohort of Udall Scholars and am excited to engage with other scholars, alumni and resource professionals at the orientation program in August.”
The 2019 Udall Scholars will assemble Aug.6-11 in Tucson, Arizona, to meet one another and program alumni; learn more about the Udall legacy of public service; and interact with community leaders in environmental fields, Tribal health care and governance.
“As the Udall committee has recognized, Charlie has the very deepest commitment to protecting America’s natural heritage by bridging the current divide between environmental science and the political sphere,” said John Waller, one of Booher’s faculty mentors and associate professor in the Department of History.
At MSU, Booher works as an undergraduate researcher in the Research on the Ecology of Carnivores and their Prey, or RECaP, Laboratory and is part of the Social Science Scholars Program. He is president of MSU Ducks Unlimited and a member of the Forestry Club and Fisheries and Wildlife Club.
“The spheres of politics and science are largely separated today, which threatens the efficacy of policies established to improve human well-being and protect natural resources,” said Robert Montgomery, director of the ReCAP lab and an assistant professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. “Charlie is conducting critically important research to address this research-implementation gap via his formative dual-degree training in MSU,s departments of Fisheries and Wildlife and Political Science.”
The National/International Fellowships & Scholarships Office, administered by the Honors College, helps interested undergraduate and graduate students pursue major national and international opportunities by providing information and direct support throughout the competitive application processes.