Honorary Alumnus Award

The length and quality of Daryl’s service to UNI as a teacher, scholar and leader in the field of prairie protection and restoration is extraordinary. He founded the UNI Tallgrass Prairie Center in 1999 and served as director until 2013. With dedication that went far beyond duty, Daryl made the Tallgrass Prairie Center a nationally recognized leader in native roadside vegetation management, native seed production and prairie restoration research. He led fundraising for the award-winning documentary “Iowa’s Lost Landscape,” and more than 100 UNI students have gained hands-on training at the center since 2005. Daryl received university awards including the Outstanding College of Natural Sciences Teacher Award (1981), Ross Nielsen Service Award (2006) and the Regents Award for Faculty Excellence (2007). He also served on the science education coordinating committee from 1968-1984, the UNI faculty committees from 1976-1981, was chair of the UNI Museum Committee from 1985-1994 and was advisor to the UNI Conservation Club from 1993-2001.

Since retirement, Daryl has continued to volunteer with the Tallgrass Prairie Center, serving as chair of the Friends of The Tallgrass Prairie Center and helping found the science education graduate summer tuition scholarship. He created two endowed funds for the benefit of the UNI Department of Biology and the Tallgrass Prairie Center and is a long-standing member of the Panther Scholarship Club. Upon his retirement in 2019, UNI’s tallgrass prairie, established by Smith and students in 1973, was named for Daryl.