CU-Boulder Professor Emeritus of biology Jane Bock and Professor of biology Carl Bock will read from their newest book, "The View from Bald Hill; Thirty Years in an Arizona Grassland," on Wednesday, May 10, in the final program of this year's Campus Lecture Series.
The presentation will look at issues regarding the protection and restoration of the nation's grasslands and will examine the dynamics of grasslands in the absence of livestock. A book signing will follow the presentation, which begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Humanities Building, room 150.
The Bocks will present the results of 30 years of research at the Appleton-Whittell Research Ranch in the deserts of southeastern Arizona, an 8,000-acre sanctuary where grazing has been banned since 1968.
"Some of our friends figure we've spent three decades just watching the grass grow," Jane Bock said. But, in fact, the BockÂ’s research has yielded several findings about grasslands including the potential negative effects of eliminating birds from grasslands and the effects of fire on grassland ecology.
The Bocks, married since 1964, were the research directors at the ranch from 1980 to 1991. Both received their doctoral degrees at the University of California, Berkeley, Jane in botany and Carl in zoology. They also are on the board of trustees of the Colorado Nature Conservancy.
The Bocks began their careers at the university in the environmental, population and organismic biology (EPOB) department in 1968. Jane, who retired last year, serves on the board of directors of the Center of the American West and has served as co-chair of the campus Sexual Harassment Committee. She has received a number of awards, including CU-Boulder's highest recognition, the Hazel Barnes Prize for excellence in scientific research and teaching in 1997.
Carl Bock served as the chair of the EPOB department from 1995 to 1997. He specializes in ornithology, vertebrate ecology and conservation biology and has received several awards for teaching and research including the Burlington Northern Faculty Achievement Teaching Award in 1989.
All lectures in the Campus Lecture Series, scheduled monthly through May in CU-Boulder's new Humanities Building, feature former Hazel Barnes Prize Awardees.
The lectures are sponsored by the CU-Boulder Office of Community Relations and are free and open to the public. For more information contact the CU-Boulder Office of Community Relations at (303) 492-8384.