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Thomas D. Mangelsen’s Awards & Honors

Tom Mangelsen receives Honorary Degree at the University of Nebraska commencementThomas D. Mangelsen and Chancellor, Dr. Joanne Li, Ph.D., CFA

Mangelsen receives Honorary Degree from the University of Nebraska

It’s so strange reflecting on how quickly time passes. When I started taking photographs many years ago, the camera was a way for me to become a better observer. It enabled me to hold onto memorable moments in the outdoors that spoke to my heart, and to better understand non-humans and the places they call home.

This is how I found solace, and still do. Along the way of getting from there to here, you've been a part of my journey. The thrill of “seeing,” though highly personal and individualistic, is one we enjoy together. 

Never in my wildest dreams did I think that a younger version of myself, with so much to learn, would receive recognition from a place of higher learning. Today, I am honored and humbled to have received an honorary doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in my home state. I was the first Mangelsen, after all, to attend university, and I began my studies at UN-Omaha. Like so many college students of modest means, I lived at home and worked different jobs when I wasn’t studying. 

Later, I entered the master’s program in zoology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln where I met my lifelong mentor, friend, and the person who changed the direction of my life, the late Dr. Paul Johnsgard. Paul gave me my first photography lessons, specifically he taught me how to photograph birds in flight, so I could document migrating waterfowl as part of a research project. Looking back, I’m greatly indebted to the University of Nebraska and grateful for this special honor.

This, however, is an award I share with you. The cause of protecting nature is a mission that is never completed; nor is it a task for the wary. Being a conservationist is a privilege and a responsibility passed from one generation to the next. Yes, it can feel pretty lonely sometimes. When you enter the frame of one of my photographs, know that I’ve been there in that place of loneliness, too. You, however, are not alone. I’m there with you. What still keeps me going is that I know you are with me.

—Tom Mangelsen

 

  • 2023 University of Nebraska - Honorary Doctorate
  • 2023 National Outdoor Book Award for Design and Artistic Merit - Seasons of Yellowstone
  • 2023 Doane Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement Award - Alpha Omega’s Hall of Fame Induction
  • 2023 American Society of Photographers - International Award
  • 2021 Environmental Hero - Green Kid’s Club
  • 2019 Presented by the National Parks Conservation Association - Robin W. Winks Award
  • 2019 BBC The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards - finalist for - Laid Back – Chimpanzee
  • 2018 World premiere of A Life in the Wild traveling exhibition - The Durham Museum
  • 2018 Sierra Club - Ansel Adams Conservation Photographer Award
  • 2018 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper on CBS - Into the Wild with Thomas D. Mangelsen
  • 2017 Nature’s Best Photography & Windland Smith Rice International Awards - Highly Honored - Night of Summer Solstice
  • 2016 Outdoor Writers Association of America, Excellence in Craft Contest - Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone
  • 2016 High Plains Book Award - Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone
  • 2015 Los Angeles Times - Mesmerizing Coffee Table Titles - Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone
  • 2015 Foreword Indies Book Award - Grizzlies of Pilgrim Creek: An Intimate Portrait of 399, the Most Famous Bear of Greater Yellowstone
  • 2015 National Outdoor Book Award - The Last Great Wild Places: Forty Years of Wildlife Photography by Thomas D. Mangelsen
  • 2011 Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History - permanent collection - Rise and Shine
  • 2011 Nature’s Best Photography - “Conservation Photographer of the Year”
  • 2010 Jane’s Journey feature film appearance
  • 2010 Outdoor Photography - One of the “40 Most Influential Photographers”
  • 2010 International League of Conservation Photographers - One of the 40 Most Important Nature Photographs of All Time - Polar Dance
  • 2008 Ben Franklin Award for the Best Coffee Table/Large Book, PMA, the Independent Book Publishers Association - The Natural World
  • 2007 National Geographic - “Wildlife: The Best Photographs” collection - Amboseli Crossing
  • 2007 American Photo Magazine - Nature Image of the Year - Morning Shower
  • 2006 Dr. Jane Goodall’s Heroes of the Animal Planet - profiled in the television series
  • 2006 Doane College - Honorary Doctorate
  • 2005 Nikon - Legend Behind the Lens recognition
  • 2005 American Photo Magazine - One of the 100 Most Important People in Photography
  • 2002 The Royal Photographic Society - Honorary Fellowship
  • 2000 North American Nature Photography Association - Outstanding Nature Photographer of the Year
  • 1998 LIFE magazine’s “The Best Magazine Photography of the Year” - nominated - Among the Glaciers
  • 1994 British Broadcasting Corporation - Wildlife Photographer of the Year
  • 1985 National Geographic TV Special - Emmy award nomination - Flight of the Whooping Crane
  • 1965, 1968 World Goose Calling Champion

Mangelsen is as much a conservationist as he is a photographer.

Watch as Anderson Cooper talks with Tom about both during the 60 Minute segment Into the Wild.
Into the Wild with Thomas D. Mangelsen on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper