Ken Klemow to Receive Distinguished Lifetime Service Award from the Ecological Society of America

Ken Klemow to Receive Distinguished Lifetime Service Award from the Ecological Society of America

Kenneth M. Klemow, professor emeritus of biology and earth systems science at Wilkes University, has been chosen to receive the Ecological Society of America's 2026 Distinguished Lifetime Service Award.

The award recognizes Klemow's long and distinguished volunteer service to ESA, the scientific community and the larger purpose of ecology in the public welfare. Over a career spanning more than four decades, Klemow made sustained and wide-ranging contributions to ecological education, professional service and public engagement with science.

Within ESA, Klemow's service is exceptional in duration and impact. He has been a member of the organization since 1977. "I'm coming up on 50 years now," he says.

During the early years of his membership, Klemow noted that professors could benefit from the same type of support network ESA provided for researchers. So, in 1987, he helped establish the ESA Education Section and served as its first chair.

"I felt that it was important for ecology educators to talk to each other and share what they do as much as researchers," says Klemow. "My goal was to help other professors become excellent teachers and try to improve ecology literacy throughout the United States and throughout the world."

Over the decades, Klemow has also served on multiple ESA committees, including Education, Publications, Fellows and Human Resources, and contributed broadly to society governance and programming.

Klemow played a central role in advancing ESA's education initiatives, including the EcoEd Digital Library and the Four-Dimensional Ecology Education (4DEE) framework, both of which shape undergraduate ecology curricula. An ESA Fellow and recipient of the Eugene P. Odum Award for Ecology Education, he also co-founded the Senior and Advancing Generations of Ecologists (SAGE) section and serves as Undergraduate Education Editor for the ESA Bulletin.

Through his sustained leadership, Klemow strengthened ESA and expanded its role in ecological education and literacy, leaving a lasting legacy within the society and the broader ecological community. And he's not done yet. He plans to work with the organization on a variety of educational initiatives to enhance the teaching of ecology. "So, my work continues," says Klemow.

Beyond ESA, Klemow supports regional and national environmental initiatives, including the Pennsylvania Biodiversity Partnership and the Pennsylvania Biological Survey, as well as public outreach and advisory work on energy and environmental issues.

At Wilkes, Klemow built a 40-plus-year career that began when he joined the faculty in 1982. During this time, he taught approximately 6,500 students through an array of courses in the biological, botanical and geo-environmental science fields. He also incorporated the talents of more than 160 undergraduate students into his research projects. In 2023, the University's Teacher Recognition and Effectiveness Committee (TREC) honored Klemow with its first Lifetime Achievement Award for his dedicated years of service to Wilkes and its students.

Though Klemow officially retired from the University in 2023, he continues to teach EGY 105 Energy in Our World for Wilkes. The class gives him the chance to share his passion for teaching and energy literacy online. "I love to teach and I love to interact with students," says Klemow. "And with the situation in the Middle East, this has been the most interesting semester since I started teaching the class in 2010."

Klemow remains connected to the University through his online class as well as contact with employees and alumni who visit San Diego, California, where he now resides with his wife.

In July, Klemow will travel to the ESA's annual meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, to accept his award and celebrate with others who have made the study of living creatures and their environments their life's work.

"I'm grateful to the people who nominated and supported me," says Klemow. "I'm humbled by this and very appreciative to my colleagues for recognizing me."

About the Ecological Society of America

The Ecological Society of America is a non-profit, nonpartisan organization of professional ecologists. Founded in 1915, ESA is the world's largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 8,000-member society publishes six journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach and education initiatives.