Department of Biological Sciences Awards and Scholarships

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Leah Uecker receives the Ruth I. Walker Undergraduate Tuition Award.

The scholarship process for all students and all scholarships begins with UWM’s Scholarship Portal. You will need to create a general profile and upload a copy of your most recent transcript. If you previously created a general profile and uploaded a transcript, you should update your profile with any new information and upload a newer version of your transcript that has your most recent grades on it.

Many scholarships require no additional application beyond this general scholarship application and uploaded transcript; students are automatically reviewed for these types of scholarships. You may also see scholarships on your Scholarship Portal dashboard that you can “Apply To.” These are scholarships which do require additional information beyond the general application and uploaded transcript. Be sure to read the description for these to make sure you meet the eligibility requirements before submitting the additional information that is being requested.

For Biological Sciences, you will need to fill out the application called either “Department of Biological Sciences Undergraduate Awards” or “Department of Biological Sciences Graduate Awards”.

PLEASE NOTE: You must leave enough time for the person writing your letter of recommendation to upload the letter by the deadline. All materials MUST BE received by the deadline, including the letter of recommendation.

Awards and Scholarships

James D. Anthony Award

  • Undergraduate (junior standing or above) and graduate students in Animal Biology. Minimum GPA = 3.25.

In honor of her husband, Margaret Anthony established this fund to support students in the Department of Biological Sciences. James D. Anthony, a graduate of the University of Michigan, joined UWM in 1954 as professor of zoology. In addition to teaching and research in parasitology, Dr. Anthony chaired the Zoology Department for three years and was involved in the Medical Technology Program. Dr. Anthony was politically active in local government and served as Menomonee Falls trustee for ten years and as village president for four. Dr. Anthony passed away in 1976. Margaret passed away in 2017.

Joseph G. Baier Memorial Scholarship

  • Graduate students in Immunology and Systematics

The family of Joseph G. Baier honors his memory and legacy at UWM through this endowed gift. Dr. Joan Baier Peterson is a graduate of UW-Madison where she earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in biochemistry. She was a scientist in the UW-Madison Department of Biochemistry for fifteen years prior to making a career change to follow her passion – writing guides to foreign cuisines. She is the president of Madison’s Ginkgo Press, which publishes the Eat Smart series of travel guides for food lovers. She’s written ten volumes including Eat Smart Brazil, Turkey, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Morocco, India, Peru, Norway, and Sicily. Her father, Joseph G. Baier, began teaching at the former University of Wisconsin Extension Center in 1932 and played a major role in the merger of the Center and Wisconsin State College to form UWM. As the first Dean of the UWM College of Letters and Science, Dr. Baier was instrumental in the construction of Lapham Hall, the home of the Department of Biological Sciences.

Robert Costello Botany Scholarship

  • Undergraduate students (junior standing or above) conducting research in Botany are eligible.

Paula J. Thompson, a 1968 alumna of the Biological Sciences Department, was a student of Professor Robert Costello. Professor Robert Costello (1921-2001) was an active member of the Department of Botany (merged with Biological Sciences) at UWM from 1956 until his retirement in 1986. During his tenure, Dr. Costello helped develop the honors program and authored a widely used botany laboratory manual. He is remembered for his service to the community, his excellence as an educator, and his personal warmth. Paula honors the impact that Professor Costello had on her life through this gift that supports an upper-level undergraduate who is conducting research in the area of botany.

Raymond E. Hatcher Memorial Scholarship

  • Undergraduates (junior standing or above) and graduate students in Biological Sciences. Minimum GPA = 3.25.

Ray Hatcher was an Illinois native who received his Ph.D. at the University of Cincinnati in 1959 and shortly thereafter joined UWM as an assistant professor in the Department of Botany. His research specialty was bryophytes and he traveled widely in the United States, New Zealand, and South America, to collect specimens. Dr. Hatcher contributed to the planning and establishment of the UWM graduate program in Botany. Dr. Hatcher was also a gifted musician who played violin and guitar. Dr. Hatcher died very unexpectedly in 1967 at the age of 36.

Hutto-Erdman Conservation Scholarship

  • This award is given to undergraduates (junior standing or above) in Conservation and Environmental Studies.

The Hutto-Erdmann Conservation Scholarship has been offered to undergraduate students in conservation and environmental studies since 1972, when the Aldo Leopold Conservation Club provided an initial endowment in memory of Neville B. Hutto and Jerry W. Erdmann. The fund has been augmented by additional donations over the years.

Louise Neitge Mather Scholarship

  • Awarded to a biology graduate student who is a Wisconsin resident (graduated from a Wisconsin high school), in good standing, with documented financial need as shown on the FAFSA, and is actively engaged in coursework or research while making progress toward degree completion.

Louise Julia Neitge (1905-2004) was born on a farm in northwest Wisconsin. She set her sights on enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, where she majored in zoology. In 1927 she was offered the opportunity to pursue graduate study, but needed to pay her debts and cover other living expenses. Louise went on to become a high school teacher in Viroqua, Wisconsin. In 2005 her daughter, Carmen Mather Witt, UWM Dean of Students from 1979-1996, established this scholarship in her mother’s name to ensure that Wisconsin women could follow her mother’s dreams in the study of biology at the graduate level.

James J. Magnino, M.D., Scholarship

  • Undergraduates (junior standing or above) in Biological Sciences. Minimum GPA = 3.25.

Dr. James J. Magnino was a family practitioner in the Kenosha area who received his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Despite relocating to other areas of the Midwest, Dr. Magnino remained connected to UWM. He was compelled to create a scholarship fund in honor of his two favorite professors – Dr. Joseph Baier (Biological Sciences) and Dr. Peter Kovacic (Biochemistry).

Clifford H. Mortimer Awards

  • This award is given to students conducting research in Limnology or Related Sciences with high academic achievement, with a preference for graduate students.

Clifford Mortimer was born in Whitechurch, a village in Somerset County in the southwest part of England. He grew up in the Quaker faith and attended Quaker schools until his attendance at Manchester University from which he graduated in 1932. He then went to Berlin for his graduate education in genetics. He returned to England to work at the Lake Windemere Laboratory of the Freshwater Biological Association. During the Second World War he was attached to the Admiralty as a civilian scientist for wave behavior specifically in reference to the English Channel. His knowledge led to his involvement in the design of the floating breakwaters for the D-Day landings. After the war, he continued his studies of wave behavior but now in relation to Lake Michigan. In 1966, Clifford Mortimer was appointed Distinguished Professor of Zoology at UWM, as well as Director of the Center for Great Lakes Studies, a position he held until 1976. Dr. Mortimer’s research focused on physical limnology and lake hydrodynamics. At the age of 94, he published a book, Lake Michigan in Motion, the royalties from which help to support this award. Professor Mortimer died in 2010 at the age of 99.

Peter J. Salamun Scholarship

  • Awarded to undergraduate and graduate students who are pursuing the study of plant sciences.

Charles P. Salamun and the late Lorraine Salamun (d. 2019), are the son and wife of Peter J. Salamun and made this gift in his honor and memory on behalf of the entire family. Professor Emeritus Peter J. Salamun (1919-2014) was born in 1919 in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, Peter graduated high school (1937) and Milwaukee State Teachers College later renamed UW-Milwaukee (1941). He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1941 and was assigned to the Eleventh Air Corp as a Weather Observer stationed in Alaska where he helped in the planning of combat missions in the Pacific Theater. Post-war, Peter continued his education at UW-Madison earning his Master’s (1947) and PhD. (1950). A professor and Chairman of the Botany Department at UW-Milwaukee, he retired after 36 years of service. His students work as secondary and university educators, naturalists, researchers and municipal horticulturalists across the nation. Professor Salamun was instrumental in developing the UW Field Station at the Saukville Bog Area. He was also a founding member of the Wisconsin chapter of the Nature Conservancy, and a published authority on the flora and geology of the Great Lakes.

Ruth I. Walker Awards

  • Tuition scholarships to continuing undergraduates majoring in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences.
  • Awards to graduating seniors majoring in Biological Sciences or Environmental Sciences based on overall scholarship and/or an independent study projects.
  • Grants-in-Aid for graduate or undergraduate students to pursue their academic or research activities.

A native of Michigan, Ruth Walker earned her Doctor of Philosophy degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1926. She came to Milwaukee in 1931 as an botany instructor at the former University of Wisconsin Extension Center. Following the merger of the Milwaukee Extension and Wisconsin State College, which created UWM in 1956, Dr. Walker served as Chair of the Botany Department until 1960. Throughout her career, Dr. Walker was devoted to teaching, research, and service to the University. She was internationally recognized for her research in cytology and embryo development. Upon her death in 1962, friends and colleagues established the Ruth I. Walker Memorial Scholarship Fund. In 1990, the Walker Fund was significantly enhanced by a gift from the estate of her sister, Jessie M. Walker.