AMES, Iowa – Stephen J. Dinsmore has been named chair of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Iowa State University.
Dinsmore will begin a five-year term as chair effective June 1. He has served as interim chair of the department since 2019, when the former chair Sue Blodgett retired. At that time, he also took on the role of interim chair for the Department of Entomology, which he led until April 1, 2021, when Steven Harris was named the new chair of the entomology department and the plant pathology and microbiology department.
“Dr. Dinsmore has a very excellent record of accomplishments and leadership,” said Daniel J. Robison, endowed dean’s chair of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. “He has proven his capacities while acting as interim chair for this department, which serves one of the largest groups of students in our college and has vibrant teaching, research and extension programs. Dr. Dinsmore was strongly supported by his colleagues, and we are pleased to welcome him officially into this leadership role.”
Dinsmore joined the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management as faculty in 2005. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and a leader of the State of Iowa’s Multiple Species Inventory and Monitoring Program, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. Dinsmore’s research is centered on the intersection of avian ecology and population biology. He focuses on science-based management to address contemporary ecological problems.
“I am honored to chair the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, a great department with passionate and talented faculty, staff and students,” said Dinsmore. “In my interim role, I was focused on sustaining our work, especially through the challenges of COVID-19. Now, I look forward to exploring new opportunities and initiatives.”
An alumnus of Iowa State (’90 wildlife and fisheries biology), Dinsmore has a master’s in zoology from North Carolina State University and a doctorate in fishery and wildlife biology from Colorado State University. His father Jim Dinsmore is an emeritus professor of wildlife ecology at Iowa State.
The Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management was formed in 2002 through the merger of the wildlife ecology and forestry departments at Iowa State. It offers majors in forestry, wildlife ecology and fisheries and aquatic sciences, as well as professional and training certifications offered through the Wildlife Society and the Fisheries Society. The department is affiliated with the Iowa Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit of the U.S. Geological Survey.