'We a bad people'

Anthony Robb, Corner Post staff

Corner Post reporter Anthony Robb took some time to talk with Charles Nilon, Associate Professor Urban Wildlife. Read on to see whatProfessor Nilon had to say.

Q: What is your background? Where did you grow up? Where did you receive your education?

A: My background: I was born and grew up in Boulder, Colo. I received a B.S. in biology from Morehouse College in Atlanta. I have a master's in forest science degree with an emphasis in wildlife conservation from Yale University and a Ph.D. in wildlife ecology from the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (which is on the Syracuse University campus).

Q: What got you interested in your field, or why did you choose it? What steps did you take to get where you are now?

A: How I got interested: I liked the outdoors, fishing, camping and hiking. I got involved in these things growing up in Colorado but never connected them with a job or an academic discipline. When I was at Morehouse, I started out thinking I wanted to go to med school, but realized that wasn't me. My adviser suggested that I try to get some experience in another aspect of biology. The summer after my sophomore year, I worked for a professor at the University of Colorado. I collected pollen samples from ponderosa pine trees and generally had fun wandering around the Boulder Mountain Parks. One of the graduate students had been a wildlife major at the University of Wyoming and talked to me about that. I realized that was what I wanted to do. The next two summers, I did an internship at Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago and got some experience in field biology and ecological restoration. Then I went to graduate school.
Steps to get where I am now: When I started at Yale, I became really interested in wildlife conservation in cities. I like people and cities and wanted to do something that linked my interest in wildlife with some of my other interests. I did a survey of New Haven, Conn., residents' attitudes toward wildlife for my master's project. That led to a job in Missouri with the Missouri Department of Conservation. After spending two years with MDC, I felt that I wanted to get a Ph.D. and go into research and possibly teaching, so I applied to graduate school at SUNY. It was a great experience and was the direct link to how I ended up at MU.

Q: You have a unique style of teaching. Explain why you teach the way you do.

A: For a couple reasons. I think most people teach in a style that fits their personality. I'm very casual so I use a more casual style. I like to talk and tell stories, so I incorporate that into lectures. I also think that it's important to bring a lot of the things that I like to my lectures, so I make a lot of references to the things that interest me: references to books, and movies, and music and other things.

Natural Resources 60 is a big class. I try to break that down and force people to be interactive. So I call on people and try to come up with different ways to force people to talk in class.

Q: Why do you refer to biologists like yourself as, "We Bad People"?

A: You mean, "We a bad people." That comes from a poem by Sonia Sanchez (http://www.poets.org/poets/poets.cfm?prmID=282). She was a writer in the Black Arts Movement during the 1960s and 1970s. She meant in the poem that black people in the U.S. come from a long line of talented, creative people with a heritage of which they should be proud.

I use that line in two ways. In a negative way, I mean that ecologists often think that they are bad in the sense that no one has the knowledge, the intelligence, etc., that they possess. In other words, no one can touch them. In a positive way, I mean that you can do whatever you dream because you do have knowledge, intelligence, etc.

Q: What do you enjoy doing when you're not at work or doing something work-related?

A: I like to read. My dad taught English and my mom was a librarian. So I love books. I spend time with my family. We like to travel. Being from Colorado I like to ski and like outdoor things in general.

Q: Is this the profession you saw yourself doing while you were growing up?

A: If you mean being a college professor, the answer is no. My dad was a professor at the University of Colorado, and when I was growing up I thought that would be a horrible job - interacting with students, dealing with university politics.
I've done some other things. I've worked for state wildlife conservation agencies in Missouri and Kansas. I also worked half-time for the U.S. Forest Service while I was working on my Ph.D. But I've found that I really like teaching and working with students.

Q: What is your favorite movie?

A: Jackie Brown. It's a great movie and I plan to leave my wife for Pam Grier.

Q: How long do you see yourself teaching at Mizzou?

A: I don't see going anywhere else.

Q: Ever think you'll decide to change from being a Colorado fan to a Mizzou fan?

A: I'm a Mizzou fan except when they play Colorado. And except when Mizzou plays Syracuse in basketball.

Posted 12/03/02


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