office space

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who loves birds more than Dr. Jim Kellam, professor of biology and, endearingly, resident SVC bird guy.

Jim is one of those few lucky people who managed to land the job he dreamed of as a kid. He grew up as a child whose health tended to keep him indoors, which meant that Jim had a lot of time to watch the family bird feeder, which lead to a love of birds—their beauty, their song, and their intelligence—but it was an assignment in his 8th grade social studies class that introduced him to his calling. He was tasked with working with his parents to interview someone who had a job he was considering. His mom got him an interview with a professor who studied birds. After the interview, “professor who studies birds” was no longer just a consideration: it was a done deal.

While he may have grown up an indoor person, Jim is decidedly now an outdoor person: not only does he spend time researching and birdwatching in the field, but he’s also an Iron Man three times over, and he proposed to his wife in the forest. Even though Jim didn’t learn to swim until age 36, he decided that he wanted to do “something big” for his 40th birthday, and while most people would likely enjoy an evening out at a favorite restaurant with their nearest and dearest, Jim decided to complete an Iron Man…and then another…and another. And when Jim proposed, his decision was thoroughly affirmed when he was hiding the note asking The Question he’d covertly lead his now-wife to find, and he saw two pileated woodpeckers—his favorite birds—engaging in courtship behavior. For Jim, that was a sign from God and an answer to his prayers.

That story is one he uses in his Billions of Birds Lost class, a core course that emphasizes the ethical, religious, public health, economic, and ecological reasons for pursuing conservation. And his exercise science courses benefit from his background as an Iron Man. One of his favorite courses to teach, though—which you can tell is a favorite by the way Jim’s face lights up when he talks about it—is the World Series of Birding class, a one-credit course that culminates in Jim taking the class to compete in the annual 24-hour bird watching competition and fundraiser in New Jersey. And whether a student has signed up to take the class because they love birds or because a friend made them, they always finish the course with the love of birds Jim hopes to instill in all of his students.

Though Jim is outdoors at least a quarter of the time, the work of a researcher requires an indoor office space. Like a bird staking a claim to its nest, Jim staked his claim to his current office following the previous occupant’s retirement, moving his things in without formal permission. Not because the office was necessarily bigger (it is) or in a better location (also yes), but because it features a large window that’s perfect for bird watching. And now this office with the perfect window for birdwatching is delightfully cluttered not only with the accoutrements of a triathlete, but with all the trappings of a dedicated ornithologist: bookcases filled with bird books (yes, he’s read all of them), photos of birds (he’s also a very talented nature photographer), and birds of every kind, from plush toys to taxidermies (this writer has humbly suggested the taxidermy raven be named Edgar Allen).

No longer a child prone to illness but rather a strong Iron Man, Jim still gets to spend his days birdwatching—either from his window or via the livestream bird cameras he worked to have set up at the Winnie Palmer Nature Reserve—a hobby that spurred an extraordinary passion for his work, and he wants his office to reflect that, clutter and all. And when you take a peek inside Dupré N106, you can’t help but feel that passion, like a bird feels the wind beneath its wings.