Cleve Hickman recognized for outstanding contributions to natural science

Cleveland P. Hickman Jr., professor emeritus of biology at Washington and Lee University and longtime supporter of Galapagos conservation and friend of Galapagos Conservancy, recently received the Thomas Jefferson Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Natural Science from the Virginia Museum for Natural History Foundation at the organization’s 22nd annual Thomas Jefferson Awards held at the museum in Martinsville, Va.

The medal is presented to an individual who has consistently made outstanding contributions to natural history.

Cleve taught at Washington and Lee from 1967 until his retirement in 1993. He specialized in animal physiology, general zoology and ecology and authored three textbooks of zoology — Integrated Principles of Zoology, Biology of Animals and Animal Diversity.

Cleve first visited Galapagos in 1974 on a family trip with his wife, Rae, and his mother and father. During this trip he decided that Galapagos afforded special learning opportunities for his students.

Over the next 20 years, Cleve led over 150 Washington and Lee biology students on 12 expeditions to Galapagos. Beginning with the seventh field trip, students carried out the first intertidal surveys of Galapagos invertebrate fauna. Since little had been documented about marine invertebrates in Galapagos, Dr. Hickman developed a provisional field guide for student use. This led to the development and publication of a series of field guides on Galapagos marine life, including sea stars, sea cucumbers and other echinoderms, marine mollusks, crustaceans, and corals. These publications continue to be important tools for scientists working in Galapagos.

Cleve and Rae are generous supporters of marine research efforts in Galapagos. They still live in Lexington where Cleve continues his research in his office lab on campus and can be found woodworking in his shop on House Mountain or playing lead flute in the Rockbridge Symphony Orchestra.