His scientific pursuits integrated the fields of systematics, ecology, evolution, natural history and behavior.
The salient organisms in his research are wide-ranging, from the orthopterans (grasshoppers, katydids and crickets) and Cicadidae (cicadas) to vertebrates: dogs, horses, and primates, including humans.
Alexander obtained an associate of arts degree from Blackburn College (Carlinville, Illinois) in 1948, a Bachelor of Science in education (biology) and a PhD from Ohio State University in 1956.
[1] For over 40 years, Alexander taught two graduate courses in alternate fall semesters: evolutionary ecology and evolution and behavior; during these semesters he dedicated all his time to prepare his lecture materials — fresh and up-to-date every year — which included many a time novel, provocative ideas from his own students and university colleagues; among which Prof. Donald W. Tinkle, curator of herpetology at the UMMZ and evolutionary biologist, was very prominent until his death in 1980.
It turned out that his hypothetical eusocial rodent was a "perfect description" of the naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber).