Hall of Fame Member Biographies

Michael A. Mares

Michael A. Mares served as director of the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and Professor of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma beginning in 1983, dedicating twenty years to a century-long dream of building a new home for the Museum. Mares helped initiate the fund drive and oversaw construction of the new 198,000-square-foot museum facility, including architecture, exhibits, and landscaping. The museum sees 200,000 visitors per year, making it a source of pride for the state and the university. In 2000, the American Society of Mammalogists presented Mares with the C. Hart Merriam Award for outstanding contributions to that discipline. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2002.