Professor Emeritus of Psychology
About
Warren G. Holmes, Ph.D., professor of psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, retired from active faculty status on December 31, 2002.
Professor Holmes received his B.S. degree from Willamette University in 1970, and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 1973 and 1979, respectively. He joined the University of Michigan faculty as an assistant professor in 1979 and was promoted to associate professor in 1985 and professor in 2000.
Professor Holmes conducted groundbreaking research on kin recognition and nepotism in non-human animals. Using several species of ground squirrels as models, he showed that kin recognition could be based on sharing an early rearing environment and on a "phenotypic matching" rule that led squirrels to treat others differently depending on their phenotypic similarity to self, even when they had never met. He also demonstrated that adult preferential treatment of close kin was mediated both by maternal behavior and by play behavior among juveniles during a narrow window of time. These are the only mammalian data specifying when during development the crucial experiences underlying kin favoritism occur. Professor Holmes' discoveries on kin recognition and kin favoritism provided the foundation for subsequent research in these areas and are considered to be general principles in the field of animal behavior.
Professor Holmes is well known for his outstanding teaching and mentoring of students at all levels. For many years he taught the highly popular introduction to animal behavior course as well as upper level courses in behavioral ecology and reproductive behavior. He twice received the University of Michigan's Excellence in Education Award from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and he served on the dissertation committees of students in anthropology, biology, natural resources, and psychology. Professor Holmes' dedication to his graduate students was widely admired, and his teaching and research did much to promote the study of the evolution of behavior.
The Regents now salute this faculty member by naming Warren G. Holmes professor emeritus of psychology.
