Welcome! Members of the American Society of Parasitologists (ASP), it is with great honor and admiration that I take this opportunity to introduce the 2022 Clark P. Read Mentor Award winner, Dr. Richard E. Clopton. Many of you may know Rich from your interactions with him at past ASP meetings, either during an enthusiastic presentation on gregarine taxonomy and systematics, through his editorial duties at the helm of JP, or from a conversation struck up over a beer at a meeting of the ASP, Southwestern Association of Parasitologists, Rocky Mountain Conference of Parasitologists, or Helminthological Society of Washington. However, a few of us know him not only in these capacities but also as a mentor.
Rich attended the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in the mid-1980s and received a bachelor's degree in agriculture and entomology. He continued his studies at UNL completing a master's degree in 1989 with a thesis...