Graumlich appointed director of MSU's Big Sky Institute

11/30/2001 BOZEMAN--Lisa Graumlich, a Montana State University professor who is an internationally respected ecologist as well as a former dean of the Earth Learning Center at the Biosphere 2, has been selected as executive director of MSU's Big Sky Institute for Science and Natural History (BSI), MSU Provost Dave Dooley has announced.

Graumlich will be the first official Big Sky Institute executive director, replacing interim director Bob Swenson, MSU's former vice president for research and development. Swenson founded the institute in 1999 to bridge the gap between scientists and the public by making scientific knowledge more widely accessible.

Graumlich was selected from a field of more than 150 applicants for the position.

"Dr. Graumlich brings to the position a wealth of relevant experience, including her most recent positions as director of (MSU's) Mountain Research Center and interim director of the university's Undergraduate Scholars Program," Dooley said. "Dr. Graumlich is nationally recognized for her talents in developing interdisciplinary programs that meld research, education and outreach."

Dooley said his charge to Graumlich is to link the MSU campus with the Big Sky community and people around the country who are interested and concerned about the Greater Yellowstone region. He has also asked Graumlich to fold the current activities of the Mountain Research Center into the larger BSI program. The BSI will replace the MRC's function as an interdisciplinary center promoting research on mountain systems while developing a much broader research and education agenda, Dooley said.

"I came to MSU two years ago because I recognized that the university had tremendous assets including the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem as a natural laboratory, a vital and talented faculty in the environmental sciences, and a senior administration dedicated to building an eminent research university," Graumlich said. "The Big Sky Institute is a natural next step for MSU's development and I am very excited to be chosen to lead the initiative."

Graumlich added that she is proud to be part of MSU's efforts to develop an institution that links research programs on this campus with education programs that address the "real-life" issues surrounding environment, development, and economic sustainability in Montana.

Graumlich is one of MSU's most renowned professors. She is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin where she earned a bachelor's degree in botany and a master's in geography, as well as the University of Washington, where she received her Ph.D. from the College of Forest Resources. She has held faculty appointments at UCLA, University of Arizona, Columbia University, and served as director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona and as deputy director and dean of the Earth Learning Center at the Biosphere 2 Center of Columbia University.

Graumlich is a fellow of the Aldo Leopold Leadership Program. In 1998 Graumlich received the W.J. Cooper Award from the Ecological Society of America.

Graumlich will direct an institute that combines current research with innovative, hands-on learning with a goal of creating a more scientifically knowledgeable, aware, and articulate citizenry. The institute offers classes that provide an opportunity for visitors to the Yellowstone area to participate in research and to learn about the constantly evolving environmental, ecological, and economic issues of the region.

The Big Sky Institute currently operates out of Big Sky's Ophir School but intends to build its own facility on 3.5 acres near the school, which were donated from local landowners. BSI is self-supporting, funded through federal grants, corporate and foundation support and individual donations with start-up funding from NASA.

A photo of Graumlich is posted on the Web. at 300 dpi, it is at:
http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/univ/LisaGraumlich2001.jpg
and small preview version
http://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/univ/LisaGraumlich2001sm.jpg

Send questions or comments to Carol Schmidt: cschmidt@montana.edu. Or you can send letters to Carol Schmidt, MSU Communications Services, 416 Culbertson Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717.

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