The Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH) Board of Trustees announced today that mammalogist Dr. Nancy Moncrief has been named Curator Emerita in appreciation of her accomplished 35 year career at the museum. Moncrief, who recently retired as the museum’s Curator of Mammals, is one of only five VMNH curators to have received the honor.
“For more than three decades, Dr. Moncrief has provided the museum with outstanding research accomplishments, invaluable leadership, and unwavering dedication,” said VMNH Board of Trustees Chairman-Elect Mark Buss. “The museum has been fortunate to have someone of Dr. Moncrief’s caliber spend the entirety of her curatorial career here and we’re pleased to now recognize her as Curator Emerita.”
As Curator Emerita, Moncrief will continue to receive access to the museum’s scientific collections and laboratories, as well as the opportunity to continue collaborating with colleagues on ongoing research projects.
“This is a well-deserved honor and a testament to the tremendous professional success that Dr. Moncrief achieved during her tenure,” said VMNH Executive Director Dr. Joe Keiper. “While her wealth of scientific and institutional knowledge will be greatly missed, we wish her well in retirement and look forward to continue working with her in the years to come.”
As Curator of Mammals, Moncrief’s research interests largely focused on the biogeography, ecology, and population genetics of mammals on the Virginia barrier islands, the ecology and evolution of eastern fox squirrels and eastern gray squirrels, as well as the systematics of sciurids (squirrels). She also oversaw the largest scientific collection of mammals from Virginia – over 18,000 specimens – along with thousands of additional mammal specimens from other parts of North America.
During her career, Moncrief published a multitude of peer-reviewed papers, many of which reported new findings about the distributions, ecology, and evolution of mammals in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States, particularly in Virginia. Her research into mammal populations on Virginia’s barrier islands has provided a comprehensive foundation for the management of mesopredators (medium-sized carnivorous or omnivorous animals, such as raccoons and foxes), and the restoration of critical nesting habitats for beach-nesting shorebirds and colonial waterbirds on the islands.
Though primarily research-focused, Moncrief performed numerous other functions during her museum tenure, including time as head of the museum’s Research and Collections department. She also served as lead curator for a wide variety of museum exhibits, including the recent special exhibit The Science of Flight, and served as lead in-house curator for the current special exhibit Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats.
Moncrief also provided her professional expertise to numerous entities throughout the duration of her career. Among other roles, she served as president of the Virginia Natural History Society, chair of the Natural History and Biodiversity Section of the Virginia Academy of Sciences, and member of the Committee of Visitors of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Environmental Biology.
Additionally, Nancy demonstrated continuous dedication to sharing her expertise, knowledge, and time with the public. She provided countless public lectures and presentations, helped develop and deliver professional workshops for teachers and citizen scientists, and contributed to a wide variety of educational programs within the framework of the museum’s expansive outreach educational initiatives.
Prior to her arrival at VMNH in 1989, Moncrief had served as a postdoctoral research associate within the Department of Biology at the University of Virginia and as a postdoctoral research associate within the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology at Wayne State University School of Medicine.
Moncrief received a Ph.D. in Zoology from Louisiana State University, a M.S. in Biology from Fort Hays State University, and a B.S. in Biology from Memphis State University.
Other individuals to have received the honor include Curator Emeritus Dr. James Beard, Department of Earth Sciences, Curator Emeritus Dr. Richard Hoffman, Department of Recent Invertebrates, Curator Emeritus Dr. Lauck Ward, Department of Invertebrate Paleontology, and Curator Emerita Dr. Judith Winston, Department of Marine Biology.
