Hillsdale College Receives Gift to Establish Nimrod Education Center
Hillsdale College Receives Gift to Establish Nimrod Education Center
Center to educate the public, students on the values of sportsmen-funded wildlife management
Hillsdale, Mich. — Hillsdale College announced the creation of the Nimrod Center for Education in the Areas of Consumptive Sport and Recreational Hunting and Fishing. Established by a generous gift from Alan N. Taylor, founder and president of the Nimrod Society, the Nimrod Education Center will educate students and the public on the importance of sportsmen-funded wildlife management.
“We are grateful to Mr. Taylor and the Nimrod Society for their trust in Hillsdale College,” said Christopher VanOrman, Hillsdale College provost. “The study of the natural sciences is an essential component of a liberal arts education and crucial to forming a complete understanding of the world. Through the Nimrod Education Center, we will have a unique opportunity to help educate the public about the contributions and leadership that hunters, anglers, and target shooters make to wildlife management and conservation.”
“The Declaration of Independence speaks eloquently of the laws of nature and of nature’s God,” VanOrman noted. “We look forward to the myriad ways the Nimrod Center will serve to further our knowledge of what is natural, good, and beautiful, not only in the state of Michigan but throughout all of God’s creation.”
Hillsdale College President Dr. Larry Arnn also spoke to the uniqueness of the Second Amendment and the importance of learning how to use a firearm properly and safely. “If you learn to be responsible for your family, for your wellbeing, for your home, for your community, ultimately your country, then you are learning the station of the highest lords. And yet you don’t have to be one. That’s why the Second Amendment is crucial,” Dr. Arnn said.
Educational outreach activities of the Nimrod Education Center will be accomplished through academic courses, continuing education programs, seminars and conferences, partnerships, scholarships for Hillsdale College students, and collaborations to establish Wildlife Councils in all states.
“You don’t need to be a hunter or fisherman to appreciate the value of wildlife conservation,” said Taylor. “But many people are misled about the vital role that hunters and anglers play in wildlife conservation and management. For example, the license fees along with federal excise tax on sporting equipment is the principal funding for all wildlife management and its protection. The mission of the Nimrod Education Center is to show the true relationship between sportsmen and conservation.”
The Nimrod Education Center will assist Hillsdale College in its mission to provide a classical liberal arts education. All Hillsdale students are required to take courses in biology, chemistry, physics, and mathematics as part of the College’s rigorous core curriculum.
By teaching the importance of hunting, fishing, and wildlife management, the College will form educated citizens who learn to appreciate the environment and value the virtue of proper stewardship of our natural resources.
The Nimrod Education Center is led by Al Stewart, who serves as its director. Stewart recently retired from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources after 50 years with the organization. While there, he was the Upland Game Bird Specialist and Program Leader and was responsible for statewide conservation and management programs for ruffed grouse, American woodcock, sharp-tailed grouse, quail, pheasants, and wild turkeys.
Operating from both Hillsdale College’s main campus and satellite campuses, the Nimrod Education Center will use the College’s many existing facilities to conduct its activities, including the G.H. Gordon Biological Station and the John Anthony Halter Shooting Sports Education Center.
Matt Suggs, CEO of USA Shooting, praised Hillsdale College’s Halter Center, home of the USA Olympic team, its shooting sports undertakings. “Anything worth doing is worth doing well,” Suggs said, “And what we’ve done with the facilities here … it really shows that commitment to excellence.”
To learn more about the Nimrod Education Center, visit https://www.hillsdale.edu/educational-outreach/nimrod-education-center/.
View photos from the Nimrod Education Center opening events here.
The Nimrod Society is a 501(c)(3), non-profit foundation aimed at encouraging state and federal wildlife management and conservation agencies to adopt self-sustaining revenue models to fund ongoing, comprehensive media-based education campaigns targeted at the general public. The Nimrod Society was formed in 2003 and refers to the biblical name of Nimrod, the founder of several ancient cities and known as “a mighty hunter before the Lord” (Genesis 10:8-12). For more information, visit nimrodsociety.org.