By Rick Bevins, Professor of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behavior Program; Chair, Department of Psychology
Professor of Psychology Dan Leger retired after 37 years of dedication to the Department and the University. As part of his illustrious career, Dan served as Vice-Chair of the Department from 1996-2000, and served the Department well as Interim Chair during a period of considerable transition during the academic year from 2000-2001. Dan earned his Ph.D. from the University of California Davis in 1980, specializing in biological psychology. His research concentrated on examining the proximate and ultimate mechanisms of animal communication and anti-predator behavior. He is well-known for his study of bird song as a means of communication, and emphases that he places on evolutionary psychology. Reflecting the import and impact of his work in the field, Dan wrote a well-received text book entitled, Biological Foundations of Behavior: An Integrative Approach that was published in 1992, and served as Editor of the journal Animal Behavior from 2000-2003.
During his career, Dan has had a profound impact on the education of psychology undergraduates. He has received the UNL Parents’ Association and Teaching Council Recognition Award for Contributions to Students on nine separate occasions, and a University of Nebraska Foundation Trustees Distinguished Teaching Award. Not only has Dan been an excellent instructor, but Dan has also been an impactful force for the betterment of undergraduate education through extensive service. He has served on the College Curriculum Committee, been Chief Undergraduate Advisor for five years, and has been Chair of the Undergraduate Issues Executive Committee for two separate terms, one spanning ten years from 1986-1996, and one spanning fifteen years from 2001-2015.
On a more personal note, during the time that I was a naïve starting professor, Dan served as my faculty mentor. He has become one of my closest colleagues and friends. Dan is an avid birder who maintains a life list of birds that he has identified. I think of Dan often when fishing or hiking; when I see an unfamiliar bird hopping along a stream I will strive to remember its appearance so I can learn from Dan the species of bird I had seen. My hope is that with his new life chapter, Dan will have both the time and the travel to at least double his life list of identified birds!