Are universities adequately preparing the next generation of wildlife professionals? Do today's students get enough hands-on field exposure or is their education too theory focused? How has the academic preparation of natural resource management professionals changed over the years and is it headed in the right direction? If it is not headed in the right direction, what should be done to change it?

These and other questions will be addressed in Special Session #2 - The Coursework of Conservation: Are University Curricula on Target - at the 74th North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference. This is one of four concurrent special sessions that will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, Wednesday, March 18, 2009, at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia.

In the 50 years following establishment of the Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit system, students were trained primarily in traditional fish or wildlife management programs at land grant universities that hosted "coop" units. This successful model of federal, state, private and university collaboration produced several generations of wildlife professionals. Special Session #2 presenters will describe the many forces that are changing that model, foremost of which are the changing demographics of students and the diversity of fisheries- and wildlife-oriented programs available to them. Initially, for the latter, nearly all students were males who entered the profession because they liked to hunt. Today's students are members of the "Animal Planet Generation." They include many more females than in the past and are much less likely to hunt or have as much outdoor experience as their predecessors. They have hundreds of university programs from which to choose, ranging from ecology and conservation biology to environmental science, rather than a few dozen wildlife programs at land grant universities. Also, these students have less desire for a career in a traditional wildlife management agency.

Conservation-oriented programs at universities also are changing as a result of budget pressures. As state support for public universities declines, faculty members increasingly turn to research grants to support students and maintain programs. Research funding often is more readily available for projects dealing with species conservation issues than for traditional fish and wildlife management issues. As a result, university programs increasingly opt for hiring new faculty members who can tap those funding sources to support their programs. Lack of funding also affects undergraduate curricula as expensive field-oriented courses may be viewed as luxuries rather than necessities.

These issues and others will be presented and discussed in a synthesis at the end of the Special Session, designed to develop strategies for the future of wildlife conservation education in universities. A follow-up discussion will be moderated by the Organization of Wildlife Planners.

Special Session #2 will be co-chaired by Steve McMullin, Associate Head of Virginia Tech's Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences and current president of the Southern Division of the American Fisheries Society, and Dan Svedarsky, Head of the Natural Resources Department at the University of Minnesota-Crookston and Past President of The Wildlife Society.