Graduating doctoral student faced ups, downs along academic journey

April 22, 2013

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — University of Florida graduate student Matt Shirley may be a Gator, but he devoted nearly eight years to crocodile conservation in West Africa.

“When I was young, I was always very interested in reptiles – the lesser loved of the animals,” Shirley said. “So when I found out there was both a need and an opportunity to study African crocodiles, I jumped on it.”

Shirley is among about 6,800 graduates expected to participate in commencement ceremonies in the next month.

His yearning for adventure and to protect nature stemmed from camping and hiking with his family as he grew up in Sarasota. His love for travel began after visiting Nicaragua in eighth grade. Since then, he has traveled to six continents and more countries than states. Shirley completed his undergraduate years at Yale University, where he majored in ecology and evolutionary biology and was funded to do bird surveys in Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa. He was there to study birds, but another passion took flight.

“I learned that the crocodiles in this region were the most unknown ecologically and evolutionarily, creating an urgent need for study, but are also heavily utilized as a food resource and dependent on increasingly threatened ecosystems, creating an urgent conservation need,” he said. “So, I came back to the USA, spoke with some people at the University of Florida and here we are.”

Since 2006, Shirley has spent between three and 12 months each year in Africa collecting samples, conducting surveys and drawing attention to the crocodiles’ plight. Despite daily struggles that come with living and working in such a harsh environment, one of the hardest blows was the death of John Thorbjarnarson, Shirley’s mentor and an influential conservationist.

He and Thorbjarnarson worked together in Uganda in January 2010 and parted ways at the end of the month. Two weeks later, Shirley learned his friend had died from malaria complications. Two days later, Shirley discovered he also had malaria, but recovered within a week.

“John was a good friend and the most significant mentor in my life. He played a very large role in shaping my conservation philosophy. I only hope I can carry on his legacy,” Shirley said.

As part of his research, Shirley has led in the discovery of new crocodile species. Prior to his work, the world believed only three existed in Africa, but now there is significant evidence that there could be seven.

After graduating with his doctoral degree in wildlife ecology and conservation on Friday, Shirley will continue working in applied conservation in the Afrotropics. As part of this, he will be working in Gabon to establish wildlife-based tourism to provide benefits and economic incentive for the management of the network of national parks.

Shirley is among 9,289 UF students who applied for degrees this semester. They include 5,701 undergraduate, 2,236 master‘s and specialist, 965 professional and 987 doctoral students.

Undergraduate ceremonies are May 4-5, time and location depending on the college. The doctoral degree ceremony is April 26, while the masters/specialist degree ceremony is on May 3.

The College of Pharmacy will host its ceremony May 6 at the O’Connell Center. The Fredric G. Levin College of Law holds its ceremony May 10 at the same venue. The College of Dentistry will have its ceremony on May 17 at the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. The College of Medicine is having its professional degree ceremony May 11 and its master’s ceremony June 22 at the Phillips Center. The College of Veterinary Medicine will host its ceremony May 25, also at the Phillips Center.

Carlos del Sol, Arthur “Andy” Horne and Donald McKinney will be recognized as distinguished alumni. Commencement speakers include French Ambassador to the U.S. François Delattre, Indonesian Ambassador to the U.S. Dino Patti Djalal and U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Pamela White.

For more information, visit: http://www.registrar.ufl.edu/commencement/schedulespr.html, or contact Donna Stricker at 352-392-1311.