WWU primatologist spearheaded campaign to nominate Jane Goodall for Nobel Peace Prize

When revered conservationist and primatologist Jane Goodall died on Wednesday, Oct. 1, Dr. Myron Shekelle wasn’t surprised — she was 91, after all — but he was disappointed that someone many considered the “global face of global peace” had never received the Nobel Peace Prize. 

Shekelle, a primatologist and senior instructor at Western Washington University, helped found the Jane Goodall Institute in Singapore and was the driving force behind an unsuccessful campaign calling for Goodall to receive the Peace Prize in 2018. That same year, Goodall visited Western, giving a speech about the beauty of Bellingham and the Salish Sea, according to the university.