Local scientist recognized for lifetime contributions in raptor ecology

Jan. 5—UNION — A Union scientist has been honored for her lifetime of work with birds of prey.

Patricia Kennedy, who has a doctorate in biology/ecology, is a wildlife biologist with a unique speciality and passion — raptors. In 2022, the Raptor Research Foundation recognized Kennedy's lifetime contributions to the field of raptor ecology. She is the recipient of the Fran and Frederick Hamerstrom Award, which is given to an individual who has contributed significantly to the understanding of raptor ecology and natural history.

"I gravitated to birds early on," Kennedy said.

Kennedy grew up in Chicago and moved west in 1970 to attend Colorado College, where she majored in biology and was first introduced to the world of raptors. She worked as an undergraduate intern with Dr. Jim Enderson, who was helping to increase the number of peregrine falcons — an endangered species at the time — by breeding the birds in captivity.

Enderson brought a few biology majors, including Kennedy, along with him when he presented his findings to the Raptor Research Foundation in 1973. She was awestruck by the scientific conference, she said, as it put Enderson's work into a greater context.

"To get an award from (the Raptor Research Foundation) when they were the ones who nurtured and mentored me, I am completely honored," she said.

After completing an undergraduate degree in biology at Colorado College in 1975, a master's degree in zoology at the University of Idaho in 1980 and her doctorate at Utah State University in 1991, Kennedy joined the Department of Fish and Wildlife Biology at Colorado State University, where she taught as an assistant professor. While she was on track to become a tenured professor in Colorado, Kennedy said she was looking for a change and new challenges.

So, in 2002, she accepted a position with Oregon State University to develop a research program at the Eastern Oregon Agricultural Research Station at the Union Experiment Station. According to Kennedy, the program focused on preserving biodiversity and wildlife on rangeland while ensuring the area is still suitable for cattle.

"I changed my focus from birds who live in the forest to those who live on the range," she said.

Kennedy taught courses for the OSU Agriculture and Natural Resource Program at Eastern Oregon University and continued to mentor and inspire students. According to David Anderson, who helped create the Hamerstrom Award, this was an important component to the award.

"Fran Hamerstrom ... successfully navigated an era when few women were part of the emerging profession of wildlife management. Fran was a pioneer in the profession. Dr. Kennedy, in her roles as advisor to graduate students and postdocs, and in her teaching to undergraduate and graduate students at multiple academic institutions, has continued in the wake of Fran Hamerstrom in advancing diversity and inclusivity in the raptor research community," Anderson wrote in an announcement of Kennedy's award.

When Kennedy first started studying ecology there were not many women in the field. She was part of the first generation of women to enter the field and was the first woman to become a full professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife at OSU. Kennedy became the director of the program in 2016, which she remained until her retirement in 2018. She continues to serve as a professor emeritus at Oregon State University.

Isabella Crowley is a reporter for The Observer. Contact her at 541-624-6014 or [email protected].