Oliver Pergams

Oliver Pergams, a Biology Professor at Olive-Harvey College, cares deeply for both his students inside and outside of the classroom. He championed campus wetlands while encouraging them to take a greater interest in protecting our world.

He conducted research into why national park visits have decreased over time and found a correlation between that trend and increased Internet use, home movie watching, movie theatre attendance and video game usage.

Early Life and Education

Oliver Pergams, a biology professor at the University of Illinois, has seen first-hand how people are turning away from nature. His and Patricia Zaradic’s research have documented a sharp drop in national park and forest visits since 1980 due to increased electronic entertainment consumption.

He is known for his genuine enthusiasm in teaching biology. He regularly leads field trips for his students and promotes extra credit opportunities. Furthermore, he champions wetlands at his college as a STEM scholarship mentor.

As an Oak Park resident, he is acutely aware of the achievement gap at District 97 schools – particularly Beye Elementary – which he believes may be tied to childhood experiences in nature; these experiences cannot fit neatly into textbooks or documentaries; each individual must come to terms with them on his or her own.

Professional Career

Oliver Pergams, a passionate teacher who challenges his students to reach their maximum potential in class and assists in finding their purpose in life, serves as mentor for Olive-Harvey College wetlands as a champion, advises an environmental club, and advises STEM scholarship winners.

He volunteers at a nearby nature preserve, taking his students on outings to experience nature first-hand. He believes humans are losing touch with nature due to “videophilia”, the tendency for people to spend too much time watching television or playing video games; national park visits have declined as a result and hopes his efforts can reverse this trend.

Achievement and Honors

Oliver Pergams was an enthusiastic biology professor with an incredible dedication to his field and students. He championed Olive-Harvey College’s wetlands, founded and advised its environmental club and mentored students on STEM scholarships – teaching his pupils to find their passions and pursue them.

“Professor Pergams was one of the most caring and dedicated educators I have ever had,” wrote one former student. “He would stay after class until every student fully comprehended what the textbook said, and was extremely helpful if extra credit was necessary for his class.” He received the Fred Hutch fellowship for infectious diseases research which recognizes researchers who have demonstrated excellence and leadership within their field over an extended period.

Personal Life

Oliver Pergams is a committed teacher and passionate scientist who cares deeply for his students. He strives to help his pupils discover their purpose in life, as well as encourage more young people to take an interest in nature around them. Oliver has served as a steward of an area wetland, created and advised environmental club meetings, designed course in zoology for academic study purposes, mentored STEM scholarship winners, lectured about national parks’ declining visitation corresponding closely with increasing electronic entertainment usage, mentored STEM scholarship winners – lecturing about declining visitations of national parks related directly with increased usage of electronic entertainment by citizens he also lectures about this phenomenon that mirrors decline in visitations of national parks which closely tracks with increases in time spent with electronic entertainment platforms – something many educators could learn a great deal!