. 
​
 CURRICULUM VITAE
James Scott Coleman
 
EDUCATION:
  • University of Maine, Orono, ME. May 1982. B.S. (with highest distinction). Major: Forestry.
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA. September 1982- June, 1983. Dept. of Plant Pathology, Physiology and Weed Science.
  • Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies New Haven, CT. May 1985 - M.S.; December 1985- M.Phil.
  • Yale University, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT. May 1987 - Ph.D.-Dissertation Title: Relationship of Ozone Exposure and Leaf Ontogeny to Susceptibility of Eastern Cottonwood to Four Pests. Advisors: William H. Smith (Yale University) and Clive G. Jones (Institute of Ecosystem Studies).
  • Stanford University, Postdoctoral Scholar (with Dr. H.A. Mooney), Department of Biological Sciences, Stanford, CA. June 1987 - September 1988.
  • Harvard University, Postdoctoral Fellow (with Dr. F.A. Bazzaz), Dept. of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Cambridge, MA. September 1988 - August 1990.
 
EMPLOYMENT:
  • Professor and Graduate Program Direction, Biology (GPD started 8/1/2022), University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, January 1, 2021-present
  • Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and Professor of Biology, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, July 1, 2020-December 23, 2020
  • Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR January 1, 2017-June 26, 2020
  • Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, and Professor of Biological Sciences, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ August 17, 2015- December 31, 2016
  • ​Dean, College of Humanities and Sciences and Professor of Biology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, July 8, 2011 – August 14, 2015
  • Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX. September 15, 2007 – July 2, 2011.
  • Vice Chancellor for Research, Director of the Office of Research and Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. May 15, 2003 – September 14, 2007. (position title was changed from Vice Provost for Research to Vice Chancellor for Research in 2006)
  • Vice President for Research and Business Development and Research Professor Earth and Ecosystem Science, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV. January 1, 2000 – April, 2003.
  • Interim Vice President for Research and Business Development, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV. August 1, 1999 – Dec. 31, 1999.
  • Project Director, Nevada NSF-EPSCoR, University and Community College System of Nevada. October 1998 – April 2003.
  • Executive Director and Research Professor, Biological Sciences Center, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV. July 1, 1997 – July 30, 1999.
  • Program Officer, Panel on Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology, Division of Integrated Biology and Neuroscience, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. September 1995 - August 1996. Responsible for managing an approximately $10,000,000 budge used for funding research in the ecological and evolutionary physiology program; dissertation improvement grants; and the NSF/DOE/USDA/NASA joint program in terrestrial ecology and global change.
  • Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244. May 1995 - July 1, 1997.
  • Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244September 1990 - May 1995.
 
ADMINISTRATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS and RESPONSIBILITIES: 
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG) and Professor of Biological Sciences. 
 
UNCG is an urban, research campus of the University of North Carolina System.  In 2020, the University enrolled nearly 20,000 students and has 3,000 faculty and staff. The annual budget for the university is approximately $500million and the estimated annual economic impact of the University in the region is more than $1 billion.  UNCG has more than 125 undergraduate majors and concentrations, and over 80 graduate programs offering more than 180 advanced degrees. Student/faculty ratio is approximately 20:1.
 
UNCG has a beautiful urban campus that includes more than 27 academic buildings and 30 residence buildings on 250-plus acres. Opportunities for students include more than 300 student organizations, 17 Division I athletic teams, intramurals, club sports, wellness center, campus golf course, student newspaper, student literary magazine, student radio station, music and choral groups, drama and dance performance groups, concert and lecture series, film series, internships, Outdoor Adventures program, fraternities and sororities, and community service. With respect to residential life (about 5,500 students live on campus)  many students take advantage of distinctive programs that include: three residential colleges for students who want to live and enroll in courses with their learning community peers while developing close, meaningful relationships with faculty; seven living-learning communities for students who want to live and enroll in courses with their learning community peers while participating in related co-curricular programs; and an honors college residence hall.
 
I was drawn to UNCG because of the institution’s realizable vision to become the model of how a university can integrate access, excellence, and engagement with the community.  Approximately 50% of UNCG’s students are Pell eligible; UNCG is recognized as a minority serving institution (e.g., UNCG graduates more African American Students each year than are enrolled at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill); and UNCG is recognized for closing the racial equity and socio-economic equity gap in graduation rates and our freshman rates reached 80.5% for the 2019 cohort- a record for the university.. UNCG is a leading member of the “Frontier Set” (as is NAU) – “a select group of colleges and universities….committed to dramatically increasing student success and erasing success gaps by race and income by transforming how they operate.”  The campus prides itself on sincere engagement with the community and has developed partnerships with school systems, hospital systems, non-profit networks, etc to improve the lives of people throughout North Carolina.  UNCG’s community engagement is built on a stronger foundation and is more integral to its culture than any institution that I worked at previously, and UNCG is recognized by the Carnegie Foundation as a Community Engaged Institution. UNCG is also recognized as a military friendly institution
 
UNCG is classified by the Carnegie Institution as “High Research” with research expenditures of over $40million/year and growing (growth in FY 21 year, despite the pandemic is over 7% to date) with significant funding from NIH, NSF, and US Depart of Education.  There are 15 research centers that focus on translating research to practice including the SERVE center, which works with schools across North Carolina and the nation.  There are eight Colleges and Schools including the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Visual and Performing Arts, School of Education, The Bryan School of Business and Education, The School of Nursing, the Joint School for Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (with North Carolina A&T); the School of Health and Human Sciences and the Lloyd International Honors College. The College of Visual and Performing Arts is nationally recognized for many of its programs; UNCG’s   Counselor Education program is ranked #3 by US News; graduate programs in human development and family studies is ranked #4;  Princeton Review recently ranked the Bryan School #2 in the nation for “greatest resources for minority students” sandwiched between Howard University (#1) and Harvard (#3).  The Bryan School’s online MBA program was ranked in the top 50.
 
Lastly (and for fun), you can get a sense of the creativity, diversity and talent of UNCG students, and the campus culture (and see the Chancellor play guitar and me play the piano) from our 2020 holiday video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-qifRCi1o4).  I encourage you to watch this because it will give you a sense of the compassion and irreverence of my personality. Also, please note that NAU is one of our peer universities.
 
As the chief academic officer and executive vice chancellor of UNCG, I had, or shared responsibility, for the following: co-leading the universities response to Covid-19 including leading efforts on delivery of campus instruction; spacing in classrooms, adjusting annual faculty and promotion and tenure process to be flexible and compassionate in response to the pandemic; developing, co-leading a budget reduction response in academic affairs about 3% on over $300,000,000 caused by reduced enrollment and covid-19 impacts to auxiliary revenue;  implementing and articulating the university-wide strategic plan and implementing tactics to achieve institutional goals in enrollment, student success, research, fundraising, and supporting the state of North Carolina; academic budgeting; allocation of resources to the academic mission (the academic E&G budget is over $300,000,000); in-person and on-line instruction and curriculum development, review and assessment; institutional accreditation; institutional efforts for recruitment and retention of faculty and staff; faculty promotion and tenure process; infrastructure and support of research, scholarship and creative activities; student academic success and retention; graduate programs; student affairs and residential housing; allocation and planning of academic and research space; academic information technology infrastructure; oversight of academic fundraising (we will announce a $200,000,000 campaign and institutional advancement activities; co-leading efforts to promote a more equitable, diverse and inclusive campus; working transparently with Faculty and Staff governance, particularly with faculty senate on issues such as how we would adjust mode of delivery in classes during covid-19, academic relief for students, and changes in the annual evaluation process of faculty; working transparently and effectively with the UNCG Board of Trustees and the UNC System Office.
 
During my tenure , we successfully managed Covid-19 through the Fall semester, with approximately 58% of classes with a face to face component, and our residence halls at 70% capacity. UNCG did terrific planning prior to my arrival but the team worked very effectively to implement social distancing, mask requirement, appropriate testing and procedures that kept cases low and we never had more than approximately 10-15% of our quarantine beds occupied at one time.  Additionally, I have laid out five priorities for my first year in addition to managing through the budget and COVID challenges during 2021-2022:

They were to:
  • Complete an integrated student success plan by May 2021.  The goal will be do develop an approach that integrates academic affairs and academic units, student affairs, health and wellness programs; transfer student services, student success, enrollment management and financial aid, business services, life design and career into a Mayo Clinic like approach.
  • Develop an approach and budget incentive model to grow innovative curricular programs where there is market demand.  Given the demographics of new undergraduate students, we are attempting to take the lead in North Carolina on developing stackable (stacking badges to certificates and certificates to degrees) post-baccalaureate programs to meet employer needs or demands by employees for upskilling in the workforce or for changing careers.  One of our first program will be a non-academic program in E-Sports management, that will allow individuals to receive badges by completing one of six modules, and a certificate by completing all six.  Our market analysis suggests this could be a large market that can bring in substantial net revenue.
  • Focus on improvement in Equity, Diversity and Access.  The University will be focusing on an action plan to get strong results in approving racial equity on campus and for improving the environment of inclusivity. I will have responsibility for implementing process that include planning, training, and redesign of policies and processes. Within this focus, a key item is working with the Faculty Senate to develop a non tenure track campus umbrella policy that defines titles, promotion processes, guidance on the awarding of multi-year appointments, and articulates the important role of non tenure track faculty in the University. I also planned to hire a provost fellow to institute a mentoring initiative for faculty of color.
  • Developing effective processes and policies for developing interdisciplinary academic programs.  Like most universities, there are challenges in developing interdisciplinary programs that generally relate to where control of the program sits and how resources are distributed.  UNCG does not currently have clear processes that streamline the process. The UNC System has a long (at least a year) process for curricular approval once programs get from the campus to the system. Given that, the campus needs to be nimble and quick in getting curricular ideas into the system process, my goal is to have such policy/processes in place, with faculty senate approval by mid-Spring 2020.
  • Developing “pillars of distinction” for the university to guide resource allocation and to provide vision for the campaign. The Chancellor has charged me with identifying areas where UNCG is positioned from strength to solve important problems and where UNCG can by truly distinctive.  I have started the process of identifying cross campus areas and bringing faculty together to vet ideas. Should faculty groups deem an idea to have potential then they will develop a white paper of  how UNCG can develop these pillars of distinction.  For example, here is one (of several)  idea we are exploring.  UNCG has the #3 ranked Counselor Education program; the #4 ranked Human Development and Family Studies program; a nationally renowned program in sports psychology; strongly competitive programs in clinical psychology, cognitive psychology and in communication sciences and disorders. Additionally, we have significant work in brain development in neuroscience.  This group will be discussing whether UNCG could be a leader in developing an interprofessional mental health (or brain, behavior, and human performance) program translating research into clinical practice.  This would fit an ongoing vision to create a “Millennial” campus on our border with the city, in partnership with the large hospital system in the area, Cone Health, to create a joint facility integrating research and clinical work.
 
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR. January, 2017 – June, 2020.  
 
The University of Arkansas is the State of Arkansas’ flagship, land-grant, research institution. The university enrolls just under 28,000- just over 23,000 undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students- and is classified as Doctoral, Highest Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation. The university more than doubled enrollment over the last decade, but increases in enrollment intentionally slowed with increases of approximately 300 students per year expected for the next several years. Approximately 50% of 2018 freshman class was from Arkansas, and 50% from out of state. Approximately 25% of students are the first in their family to go to college and just over 20% of students are Pell eligible. The Fall, 2018 freshman class had a record enrollment of Arkansans, record enrollment of underrepresented minorities, record average ACT score and average high school GPA. The university also has a nationally recognized Honors College with approximately 4,000 students, reaching record levels. Freshman retention rates were just under 86% for the 2019 cohort, increasing approximately 4% during my tenure. Six year graduation rates are about 68%, rose significantly for the 2012 cohort, and is a focus of our attention. Research expenditures hit a record high of over $175,000,000 in fiscal year 2018, growing 11% over the previous year (and 21% since my arrival). Ph.D. production grew by 4% between fiscal years 2017-2018. Additionally, the University had 14 NSF CAREER award winners over the last two years and one PECASE winner. The University just completed a $1,250,000,000 campaign. Several truly transformational gifts were obtained during my tenure in the Provost role including the largest gift to an academic institution to create a school of art ($120,000,000); a gift to create art facilities ($40,000,000); two gifts to build research and commercialization Phase 1- $23,700,000) and a  phase 2 gift ($194,000,000); a gift to train teachers and administrators to work in high poverty schools ($10,000,000); a gift to create a timber and wood innovation center ($7,500,000) and a gift for construction of a student success center ($5,000,000). I played a co-lead role in the research gifts and the student success center gift in developing the plans and a supportive role or implantation/stewardship roles in the others.
 
As the chief academic officer and executive vice chancellor of the University, I had, or shared responsibility, for the following: co-leading the universities response to Covid-19 through the end of June 2019, developing, implementing and articulating the university-wide strategic plan and implementing tactics to achieve institutional goals in enrollment, student success, research, fundraising, and supporting the state of Arkansas; academic budgeting; allocation of resources to the academic mission (the academic E&G budget is over $300,000,000); in-person and on-line instruction and curriculum development, review and assessment; institutional accreditation; institutional efforts for recruitment and retention of faculty and staff; faculty promotion and tenure process; infrastructure and support of research, scholarship and creative activities; student academic success and retention; graduate programs; enrollment planning and financial aid; allocation and planning of academic and research space; academic information technology infrastructure; oversight of academic fundraising and institutional advancement activities; oversight of programs aimed at creating a culture characterized by inclusivity. I worked very closely with the University of Arkansas Faculty Senate to try and ensure a transparent and effective shared governance system.
 
Some accomplishments during my tenure as provost were:

 
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biological Sciences,Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ. August 2015 – December 2016.  
 
Northern Arizona University (NAU) is one of three public, research, universities in Arizona and is classified as Doctoral, Higher Research Activity by the Carnegie Foundation. NAU has been a rapidly growing university that enrolled approximately 30,000 students, approximately 22,0students attended on the main campus in Flagstaff, with the remainder enrolled in NAU’s well regarded online programs or satellite campuses across Arizona. NAU is a truly transformational university- over 45% of the students enrolled in Flagstaff were first generation college students when I was there and NAU is nationally recognized for implementing a range of successful programs focused on the success of first generation students. Additionally, NAU is a diverse institution, recognized as one of the top institutions in graduating Native American students and with an enrollment that reflected the demography of Arizona including approximately 21% Hispanic/Latino students.
 
NAU is also recognized for building strong programs in International Education and for including a global learning initiative in its core curriculum. NAU has had a vision of being the number one university in the US for Native American students and is recognized as a strong tribal partner. Efforts in this realm included targeted programs such as the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals that strengthens the capacity of tribes throughout North America in the management of natural resources, as well as being a lead participant in the NIH funded Partnership for Native American Cancer Prevention.
 
NAU had  a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs in its Colleges of Arts and Letters; Engineering, Forestry and Natural Sciences (Engineering separated out after I left into its own School); Social and Behavioral Sciences; Health and Human Services; W. Franke College of Business; and Education, as well as a growing Honors College. NAU has an innovative First Year Learning Initiative program that successfully redesigns courses to significantly improve DFW rates and also has a strong e-learning program that has facilitated the adoption of hybrid and blending learning techniques, as well as helping faculty explore pedagogical innovation. NAU was also on the cutting edge in implementing adaptive courseware in introductory courses. There was also a campus-wide focus and integration of disciplines around sustainability. There were also strong programs in the visual arts, performing arts and creative writing, contributing to Flagstaff’s rich arts culture. Additionally, in the National Survey of Student Engagement, NAU students reported exceptionally high levels of engagement with faculty (at least while I was there), and in the number of high impact experiences (capstone courses, undergraduate research, service-learning, study abroad, residential learning communities, etc.) they experience during their time at NAU.
 
As the Chief Academic Officer of the University, I had, or shared responsibility, for academic planning; budgeting, instruction, curriculum development, review and assessment; institutional accreditation; recruitment and retention of faculty and staff; student academic success and retention; allocation and planning of academic space; and management of the University's academic affairs budget. I also worked closely with the NAU Faculty Senate and the NAU Chairs Council to try and ensure a transparent and effective shared governance system. Some accomplishments include:

  • Co-led an effort to win funding from the APLU to be on the cutting edge of implementing adaptive courseware in large introductory courses as well as facilitating NAU’s participation in the AASCU’s “Re-imagining the First Year” project.
  • Participated on a team responsible for developing a set of approximately 40 strategies to improve student retention and graduation rates. We targeted strategies on specific groups of students such as students at risk because of relatively weaker academic performance in high school or during their first year at NAU, students of color, transfer students, online students, first generation students, in addition to broader strategies that will help improve retention of all students. Freshman retention rates increased significantly during the two academic years I was at NAU.
  • Helped shepherd new Ph.D. programs in Informatics and Bioengineering, in addition to several undergraduate and masters programs through the NAU curricular strategic review process and/or through approval by the Arizona Board of Regents. NAU’s curricular review involves two parallel reviews: (1) a process to look at the strategic value of proposed new programs with respect to their alignments with the strategic plan in addition to a careful examination of a business plan. That process is led by the Provost’s Academic Leadership Council; (2) an evaluation of the proposed curriculum, learning outcomes, etc. through the curricular review process.
  • Worked with Deans and the Vice President of Research to recruit more than 30 tenure track faculty, including several under-represented minorities and we also actively negotiated several dual-career couple hires. These included several high profile hires to rapidly build the research capacity in our new Ph.D. programs (informatics, bioengineering, astronomy), including helping successfully negotiate several dual career hires. For example, the institution recruited a full professor from Harvard into the global change research group during my tenure and I played a significant role in that recruitment.
  • Worked with the NAU President and the Dean of Graduate College to reallocate funds to increase graduate student stipends in order to increase our competitive position and to help meet our goals for growth in graduate programs. This led to substantial growth in enrollment in several of our Ph.D. programs.
  • Reorganized academic advising to a more coordinated model including an ongoing implementation of Civitas – a predictive analytics tool to facilitate student success. NAU also began implementing a new centralized classroom scheduling software (25 Live), new interactive academic planning tools (Jacks Planner); and transfer articulation tools while I was there.
  • Provided significant contributions and guidance to a task force on a plan they developed (and has been implemented) that ultimately transformed NAU’s Honors program into an Honors College.
  • NAU’s freshman enrollment increased by over 400 students from FY 2016 to FY 2017- a growth of approximately 10%. This effort is under the auspices of the Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, but as Provost I played a role in managing and planning for the increase, as well has helping in some recruiting efforts. NAU’s freshman retention increased significantly during the two academic years I was provost.
  • Reorganized NAU’s University College to ensure a focus on first year student success and successful transition of students into the sophomore year, as well as streamlining its function freeing up resources for reallocation. The reorganization allowed NAU to redeploy approximately $1,000,000 into other university priorities.
  • Implemented the use of the Delaware Study to help benchmark NAU’s resource efficiency and productivity against peer institutions.
  • Hired a new Executive Director of the NAU Center for International Education and NAU welcomed our largest international class in Fall, 2016 of just under 1,300 international students.
  • NAU won the 2020 award from the APLU for Degree Completion. Most of the actions that were taken that led to winning the award were implemented during the time I was provost.  To be clear, these ideas (e.g., implementing Civitas with a clear plan for intervention and with integrated data from academic affairs, student affairs, business affairs, etc, Salesforce as a customer management system for students, reorganizing and standardizing expectations for professional advisors; dismantling University College and using the resources to support other student success activities) were not necessarily mine. But, during my tenure as provost, I led the implementation of most of these tacticsin academic affairs.
 
Dean and Professor of Biology, College of Humanities and Sciences, Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA July, 2011-August, 2015. 
 
VCU is one of Virginia’s three major research institutions and was formed in 1969 by the merger of the Medical College of Virginia (MCV) with the Richmond Professional Institute (RPI). Since its inception, student enrollment has grown dramatically to over 31,000 (in 2015) making the University the first or second largest in the Commonwealth of Virginia (George Mason University’s enrollment is sometimes reported to be larger than VCU’s) and VCU had over $240,000,000 of annual sponsored project awards during my tenure there and expenditures putting it in the top 100 research universities in the country in NSF’s FY 2012 rankings of total and federal research expenditures. After its inception, the university transitioned from a largely commuter campus at the undergraduate level to a vibrant residential campus similar to that of most major urban research universities. VCU is particularly recognized for having the #1 ranked (US News) public School of the Arts and by having a renowned medical campus, as well as strong professional programs in nursing, allied health, social work and education.  The University (and the College) prides itself on its significant engagement with the Richmond community and faculty and students actively engage the local community in a wide array of educational and research programs (e.g., last year VCU students reported that they contributed 1.1 million service hours to the Richmond Community) . The University was driven by a strategic plan “Quest for Distinction” (www.future.vcu.edu/) that while I was there detailed metrics for meeting key goals in student success; research; interdisciplinary approaches to human health; community engagement, and stewardship of resources to reach its vision as becoming the premier public, urban, research university.
 
The College of Humanities and Sciences is (and was) the largest unit at VCU in terms of enrollment: there were approximately 14,000 students enrolled in the College when I was dean - Humanities and Sciences taught just under 400,000 credit hours annually- approximately 50% of the total credit hours, and approximately 60% of the undergraduate credit hours taught at VCU. The student body was unusually diverse and the university is truly transformative with approximately 30% of student body as first generation college students and the proportion of students of color was just under 50%. VCU was also recognized for having closed the graduation gap between African American and Caucasian students. During my tenure, Humanities and Sciences had approximately 400 full-time faculty members, over 200 part time faculty members, and approximately 80 full time staff members, and had the largest amount of externally funded research (over $20M in awards in FY 2015) on the Monroe Park Campus at VCU with particular funded research strengths in psychology, chemistry, physics, mathematics and mathematics education, and interdisciplinary environmental and ecological science (with VCU’s Rice Center). H&S faculty were the recipients of an $18.1M Center from FDA/NIH to study the health risks of tobacco products in 2014; had one of CDC six centers of excellence in research to prevent school violence; and one of our Physics professors, Puru Jena, was named one of Virginia’s 2015 Outstanding Scientists by Governor McAuliffe for his work on material science. The Humanities and Sciences at VCU also has a particularly strong program in English and Creative Writing, with several faculty recognized with major national awards (e.g., Guggenheim Fellowships; Pulitzer Prize winner (deceased in 2015); Lenore Marshall Awards, National Book Award finalists). The College of Humanities and Sciences currently housed two schools (Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture: School of World Studies), and 18 additional departments and programs spanning the range of Humanities, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences. Humanities and Sciences was also the administrative unit for five cross-disciplinary Ph.D. programs (Media, Art and Text; Nanoscience and Nanotechnology; Systems Analysis and Modeling; Health Psychology and Chemical Biology) as well as several other doctoral programs, a terminal MFA program and several masters programs. Humanities and Sciences was driven by a strategic plan Pathways for Transformation  evolving from a process that I led.
 
As the chief academic and administrative officer of the College, I was responsible for strategic planning, the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff, student enrollment, space, all aspects of delivering and assessing undergraduate and graduate academic programs, management of an approximately $90,000,000 budget (approximately $52M operating), support of research, and alumni relations and fundraising for the College. I also served as the primary advocate at VCU for the liberal arts and sciences, both internally and externally. Some accomplishments include:

  • The culture of VCU historically was centered on its strong professional schools in medicine, arts, social work, education, with humanities and sciences playing a more peripheral role, despite its enrollment representing approximately 50% of the University. A significant accomplishment over my tenure at VCU was that Humanities and Sciences became a much greater part of the University’s narrative as it strived to be a premier, public, urban university. This was exemplified by the fact that for the first time, the University identified a “home” building for the Humanities and Sciences and supported an architectural planning study for a new home as a priority on its Master Plan and allocated over $5,000,000 of new permanent funding for faculty hiring after I arrived. I worked hard on communicating the key role that the liberal arts plays in great universities and on the accomplishments of our students, faculty and alumni, and, at least some of the renewed attention to liberal arts and sciences has resulted from my advocacy.
  • Led and completed a nine month strategic planning process that integrated quantitative survey research of the unit's faculty and staff (Concept Mapping), large group meetings, a series of more than a dozen small group meetings with 130 members of the faculty and staff, and alumni surveys resulting in a strategic plan titled "pathways for transformation" that articulated the vision, challenges, opportunities, and actions over the next several years to allow the Humanities and Sciences to provide the intellectual core consistent with VCU's goal of being recognized as a premier public, urban research university. The plan created a vision for the unit to provide the steepest slope of the line (or the highest value-added) to our students over the course of their time at VCU and built on the faculty’s passion for transforming student lives through education and conducting research that helps to transform fields of study and the human condition. The process we used ensured that the College of Humanities and Sciences would play a central role in meeting the goals and objectives of the University’s Strategic Plan “Quest for Distinction” and its five goals: student success; research; human health as an integrating factor; community engagement; and stewardship of resources.
  • Implemented several actions to improve the educational and research environment at VCU. Some actions include: active recruiting over 100 new full time faculty positions (and made approximately 60 promotion and tenure recommendations for faculty from the Humanities and Sciences); restructuring the College’s research office to better serve faculty in research development; implementing a program review process; developing improved processes for the evaluation of departmental chairs and school directors, as well as new processes in annual faculty evaluation; helped to implement and develop strategies to improve student success through advising, and support that helped lead to a 4% increase in VCU’s student retention in my last year, and successfully implemented several unit reorganizations that were requested by the Provost. One of these reorganizations led to a new health science concentration to further facilitate VCU students pursuing degrees in a wide array of health sciences.
  • Efforts focused on research infrastructure and faculty hiring led to significant increases in the volume of sponsored research. For example, research funding grew 30% between FY 13 and FY 14 and grew again by an additional 30% between FY 14 and FY 15 to more than $20M.
  • Developed a transparent budget and information process in the College such that all units could see the enrollments; credit hours taught; research productivity and budgets for all units in the College. The work we did on budget transparency has allowed our unit to play lead roles in the university’s ongoing discussion of new budget models, including a detailed examination of an RCM model.
  • Implemented the College of Humanities and Sciences participation in the Delaware Study as a means to benchmark productivity and budgets to peer and aspirant institutions. Also, began the implementation of the College of Humanities and Sciences’ participation in Academic Analytics as means to benchmark the research performance of faculty.
  • With respect to faculty hiring, more than 100 full time faculty members were hired during my tenure, many with excellent records as teacher-scholars including a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. This included several exceptional senior hires including a Director of the Robertson School of Media and Culture, a distinguished mathematician to lead our Mathematics Department, a Distinguished historian to lead our Humanities Research Center, and distinguished forensic anthropologist to lead our Forensic Science department and a significant number of hires from underrepresented minorities- we hired 17 tenure track faculty in 2014-2015; 10 were under-represented minorities.. We also maintained diversity of faculty partly as a result of my active approach to retaining several of our best faculty who were actively pursued by other universities, in addition to recruiting. Retentions involved more than just salary adjustments but also included working within and outside my unit to create dual career opportunities for couples, working with our VP for Inclusive Excellence to create a mentoring role for a distinguished senior faculty, and working to create professional development pathways.
  • Played a significant role in development activities that resulted in the naming of the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture in H&S (currently under board consideration) for one of VCU's most successful graduates and engaged alumni. Additionally, I engaged some of the College’s most internationally renowned and high profile graduates, as well as some of Richmond’s community leaders to participate in the College’s first ever advisory board. Additionally, we raised funds to endow a professorship in Religion and the Arts and raised substantial funds to support or creative writing program. We formed the groundwork to begin a fundraising campaign We had a greater than 30% increase in fundraising in 2012-2013 and more than doubled fundraising the following year (2014-2015).
  • Developed and implemented the first phase of structured plan to remedy salary compression that resulted from six years of no merit raise pools. The first phase of the plan involved reallocating budgets to support increases for recently promoted Associate Professors who, because of state policy, had not received merit raises in the past six years. This resulted in salary equity adjustments for approximately 10% of the College's faculty.
  • Began the development of pathways for entrepreneurial education for students in Humanities and Sciences and raised philanthropic support to create a “Go For It!” scholarship program to allow students to get a subsistence stipend to pursue entrepreneurship training and to start a company- in its first year, the participating student companies raised a total of more than $1,000,000 in investments, grants and sales revenues and created approximately 30 new jobs. I played a significant role in developing university-wide programs aimed at providing such pathways for students to help them gain the confidence and skills to create their own jobs. As part of that effort, I co- developed and co-taught a course title “job creators and risk takers” and actively engaged in helping the University create a certificate program for students in entrepreneurship and in helping to develop plans for a living-learning residence hall focused on innovation. I also engaged in the development international programs, which included partnership agreements for graduate programs with Sao Paulo University in Brazil and Fudan University in Chemistry.
  • Worked with faculty to create an interdisciplinary Humanities Research Center and hired and recruited an internationally renowned scholar to lead its development. This center has significantly affected the perception of humanities scholarship on campus and has seeded several interdisciplinary humanities research efforts.
  • Worked with the Richmond Public Schools to implement VCU-RPS partnership to participate in Yale University’s National Teacher’s Initiative. We committed to a planning process. Unfortunately, the implementation was delayed with the appointment of a new Superintendent to the Richmond Public Schools, but VCU maintained a strong K- 12 partnership in the Yale Initiative.
  • Co-chaired the search committee that led to the recruitment of a female, National Academy of Engineering member (Barbara Boyan) as Dean of the VCU School of Engineering. Co-chaired the search committee recruiting a new Dean for the VCU Honors College, and Chaired the search committee bringing an outstanding development professional to become the Associate Director of development with responsibility for leading the campaign. I led a University task force regarding our human resources structure of teaching/research and administrative/professional employees, and I was the dean representative on the University Budget Committee.
  • Worked with a group of students to create the College of Humanities and Sciences first college wide student leadership council to advise the Dean’s Office, which continues to thrive
  • Provided leadership that helped the College continue to offer the majority of service- learning, study abroad, and sustainability related coursework at VCU, as well as providing over 90% of the University’s tier II (out of three tiers) core curriculum.
  • I was evaluated by the Provost each year; one component of the evaluation included a 360o survey. Approximately 200 individuals filled out that survey in 2014-2015, and 90% of those individuals who felt they could rate me on my overall performance agreed with the statement that I had a high level of performance.
 
Vice Provost for Research and Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Rice University, Houston, TX. September 15, 2007 – July 2, 2011. 

As the Vice Provost for Research, I was given the responsibility for the Office of Sponsored Research Office of Technology Transfer and the Office of Animal Resources, and partial responsibility for overseeing Rice’s nationally renowned entrepreneurship center, The Rice Alliance. I was also given the task of developing and growing a first-class research infrastructure at Rice. During my time at Rice, I became responsible for several of Rice interdisciplinary units including the BioSciences Research Collaborative ($300M, multi-institutional, multidisciplinary, life science building); Smalley Institute for Nanoscale Science and Technology, Rice 360o- Institute for Global Health Technologies; Rice Building Institute; Institute for Sustainable and Applied Infodynamics (with NTU in Singapore) and the Rice Quantum Institute including its oversight of Rice's Applied Physics Graduate program. I also played a significant but secondary role in the opening of two major science facilities.
  • Developed a strategic plan to provide infrastructural support to faculty to grow Rice’s research profile and stature. Rice’s sponsored project awards grew approximately 67% during my time at Rice, while the volume of proposal submissions (in dollars) more than doubled. Industrial sponsored research grew nearly four-fold during my time at Rice. Rice’s federal research expenditures grew approximately 64% (from $67M to $110M) between 2006 and 2011 according to NSF rankings. Common technology transfer data bases indicated that during my tenure, Rice had one of top few highest rates of invention disclosures and start-up companies per dollar of research among major research universities. Industry supported research increased significantly during my tenure.
  • Implemented (with the Director of Government Relations and Vice President for Public Affairs) a transparent and rigorous process to prioritize Rice’s federal research initiatives and to work closely with the Vice President for Public Affairs in communicating these initiatives to our Congressional delegation and to federal agencies.
  • Played a significant supporting role in the receipt of a $3,000,000 gift from the Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation to foster research collaborations among Rice, Texas Children’s Hospital and the Methodist Hospital Research Institute, and I played the lead role in implementing this effort including defining the program, advertising the program to faculty, developing electronic systems for submission and review of proposals, implementing the review process, awarding the grants, and engaging and stewarding the donor.
  • I co-chaired a joint Rice-Baylor College of Medicine committee charged with examining ways to maximize academic benefits of a possible coming together of Rice University and the Baylor College of Medicine. I co-Chaired Rice's Bioscience and Human Health task force aimed at developing a strategic plan for Rice to develop a preeminent niche in this area, which formed a basis of major recruitments and research success at Rice after I left.
  • Successfully engaged the Rice’s Board of Trustees on the importance of Rice’s research to realizing Rice’s Vision for the 2nd Century.
  • Built relationships with the economic development community of Houston in order to help achieve Rice’s vision for engaging with Houston. I am also helped develop a coherent economic development strategy by integrating the missions and activities of the Office of Technology Transfer and The Rice Alliance, and working closely with the Rice Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
  • I collaborated with the Humanities Research Center at Rice to create a Humanities Innovation Fund to seed research across the humanities and humanistic social sciences.
  • I co-led the planning effort for the implementation of an electronic grants administration and routing system.
 
Vice Chancellor for Research, Director of the Office of Research and Professor of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO. May, 2003 – September, 2007 (note that position was changed from Vice Provost to Vice Chancellor in 2006). 
 
As the Vice Chancellor for Research, I was responsible for overseeing all aspects of MU’s research enterprise including oversight of approximately a $30,000,000 general operating budget for the Office of Research, oversight of an overall budget for units under my direction of approximately $70,000,000 (that includes research and service revenues in addition to general operating funds), and oversight of the entire $250,000,000 research enterprise at MU. Some of these accomplishments include:
  • Research expenditures grew 25% during my time at MU. The annual rate of invention disclosures, deal signing, and patent filings all doubled during my tenure at MU, with annual licensing income increasing from $2M to over $6M (with a high of $10M due to a one-time milestone payment).
  • Led the process of designing operating models and opening the interdisciplinary Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center (LSC), including the recruitment of an internationally recognized Director, and then his successor, development of a self- sustainable budget strategy that allowed for maximum interdisciplinary collaboration between the LSC and campus units, the merger of this new program with the existing campus molecular biology program, and working with the new Director and campus Deans to ensure that the LSC met the strategic goals we set for it during a long strategic planning process that started well before I joined MU.
  • Played a major role in the development of two significant new interdisciplinary centers:
  1. Institute for Nano and Molecular Medicine (and the hiring of a National Academy member to lead the center) - this included the construction of a new research facility; and
  2. Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders.
    • Successfully communicated the importance and success of MU’s research enterprise, and how the success of the research enterprise connected to all the other academic missions of the university, to both internal audiences (faculty, students, staff, Board of Curators) and external audiences (Missouri Governor’s Office and Missouri’s State Legislature, local chambers of commerce, Rotary clubs, business leaders, and community groups). I also interacted extensively with the media in Missouri and I also successfully communicated MU’s positions on science policy issues such as stem cell research, as well as working with our legislative delegation to educate them on various science policy issues.
    • Significantly improved several aspects of MU’s applied research infrastructure including: (1) working with the University of Missouri System Vice President to reorganize the way MU manages intellectual property and support faculty entrepreneurship that led to a doubling of MU’s invention disclosures and a ten-fold increase in our deal flow; and (2) working with the Columbia, MO community I played a significant role in developing plans and funding for a life science business incubator in Columbia including playing a significant role in securing a $2,500,000 grant from the Department of Commerce and a multi-million dollar gift from the Monsanto Corporation to help cover construction costs
    • Led efforts to develop an infrastructure strategic plan to support MU’s planned growth in biomedical research requiring facilities for housing and caring for animals, and for plant growth facilities needed to maintain MU’s stature as one of the leading research plant biology research universities in the United States.
    • Worked closely with the UM System Director of Government Relations and developed a process for creating priorities for MU with the Missouri delegation.
    • Worked with Deans and Faculty to create new budget models to support research infrastructure. This included a new plan to self-sustain the costs of compliance in the area of clinical trials, and the development and implementation of a ‘grant incentive plan’ that allowed for salary incentives to faculty that are successful in securing extramural funding.
    • Contributed to campus diversity by using my “bully pulpit”, by being a significant contributor to an NSF award to train undergraduate minority students in environmental biology, and by energizing a team of female scientists that received an NSF ADVANCE grant to promote the development of female faculty in science, math and engineering areas.
    • Chaired a committee charged with encouraging interdisciplinary behavior including changes in MU’s tenure process. That Committee’s report was enthusiastically accepted by the campus strategic planning and implementation had begun before I left the institution.
    • Worked with the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies and reallocated funds from the Office of Research budget to create a campus-wide Office of Undergraduate Research to better communicate and support undergraduate research across campus. This led to a significant increase in the number of students supported in research opportunities and in MU’s ability to showcase the pivotal role that research plays in undergraduate education across the entire campus including arts and humanities.
    • Acted as the Provost’s representative to the campus-wide promotion and tenure committee that evaluated candidates across all the disciplines represented in MU’s 12 schools and colleges; evaluated comments from outside reviewers; evaluated decisions by departments, schools and colleges; and then wrote full reviews and made recommendations on all campus faculty eligible for tenure and promotion. These diverse disciplines ranged from journalism to basic science and clinical faculty in medicine and veterinary medicine, from agriculture to law, from education to the traditional full range of arts and sciences.
    • Played a significant role with many others in securing the recruitment of the world’s foremost boron chemist. I also recruited a first class scientist to direct MU’s flagship life sciences research center, a first class scientist to direct MU’s Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center, a person who positively transformed MU’s technology commercialization function, a director of MU’s interdisciplinary center for aging, and a Director of a Center for Arts and Humanities—dramatically increasing the campus-wide research presence and infrastructure in this area
    • Actively participated as a member of the AAU Senior Research Officers group.
    • Served as an active member of the steering committee for MU’s successful $1,000,000,000 fundraising campaign including playing a major role in implementing and stewarding an $8M gift to create the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopment Disorders.
 
Vice President for Research and Business Development, Desert Research Institute, Reno, NV. January 1, 2000 – April, 2003 and Director of Biological Sciences Research Center, Desert Research Institute (8/97-12/99). 

I was responsible for: (1) creating an effective office of research and business development; (2) designing and implementing interdisciplinary research programs; (3) developing new processes to strategically invest and track institutional resources to build research programs; (4) helping to negotiate faculty start-up packages; (5) articulating the vision of DRI’s research programs to Nevada’s federal and state legislative representatives, the UCCSN Board of Regents, DRI’s fundraising foundation, groups and individuals involved in promoting the development of knowledge-based economy in Nevada, and members of the Reno and Las Vegas community; (6) designing a technology transfer program essentially from scratch; (7) overseeing and developing several areas relating to research compliance; (8) working with the chief research officers of UNR and UNLV to advocate for and develop statewide research and graduate programs; (9) participating (albeit in a relatively minimal way), as a faculty member in UNR’s Graduate Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology; and (10) I directed Nevada’s National Science Foundation EPSCoR Program.
  • DRI’s President, Dr. Steve Wells, asked me to assume the Vice President for Research (VPR) post at a time when DRI faculty were questioning whether the position should exist. I worked very hard to redefine DRI’s VPR position so that it focused more intensely on advocating for and facilitating faculty research. Positive results of that effort were recognized in a report in 2001 by DRI’s National Science Advisory Committee (an outside group of experts led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science who reviewed DRI’s science and operations). In its report the committee of nine internationally recognized scientists and science administrators wrote “The high level of mutual respect between DRI faculty and DRI leadership, and the efforts made by DRI leadership to be visible and accessible, contribute significantly to the vertical flow of information at DRI. The present leadership at DRI is both dynamic and visionary. Their accomplishments over the last two years were generally recognized and appreciated by the faculty.” The notion of mutual respect between DRI faculty and senior administrators (in central administration) was much more obscure when I took the position.
  • Demonstrated the ability to help design and build interdisciplinary research programs that also required me to co-lead significant institutional change (DRI did a major institutional reorganization in 2000 going from five academic units [Centers], to three, with the creation of two new cross-cutting units) with DRI’s President.  Furthermore, the programs that we built were aimed at linking basic (curiosity-driven) and applied (problem solving) science.
  • Developed and implemented a strategic plan to make the institution’s investment into an internationally unique facility (EcoCELLs –Ecologically Controlled Lysimeter Laboratories) pay off. We defined our goal as getting major NSF competitive funding and proving that the concept of the EcoCELLs could significantly advance global change science – the ultimate recognition we aimed for at the time was to get a paper based on research in the EcoCELLs on the cover of Nature. I led the implementation of a plan that involved accessing support from NSF, EPA EPSCoR, and the Mellon Foundation; redefining the research focus of the EcoCELLs from physiological ecology to ecosystem ecology; strategically drawing on an external advisory group, and the hiring and collaboration with great people, that led to major NSF funding ($3,000,000 from NSF’s IRCEB program) and ultimately, on September 18, 2008, to a picture of the EcoCELLs on the cover of Nature.
  • Successfully communicated the important role that DRI’s activities play in the State of Nevada and nationally to several stakeholder groups including the Board of Curators, local and statewide politicians and community leaders and to Nevada’s Congressional delegation. I put in place a very successful process for DRI’s interaction with Nevada’s Congressional delegation that has led to multi-million dollars of federal research funding.
  • Faculty I hired as assistant professors while Director of the Biological Sciences Research Center became faculty leaders of the institution. As Vice President, I developed an institution-wide process with the Division Directors (Deans in DRI’s structure) to rank research areas for campus-wide hires in each year including development of a process for creating annual institutional start-up budgets which greatly improved institutional hiring and the institutional budget process.
  • As Nevada’s National Science Foundation (NSF) EPSCoR director, I led the process of developing and implementing strategic plans to invest millions of dollars to improve statewide research capacity (across the Nevada University System), including educational outreach in science and engineering to the K-12 community. During my tenure, I was told by NSF that Nevada was one of the best of more than 20 statewide programs, because of our successful strategic planning. In fact, Nevada experienced the second largest increase in research performance at the National Science Foundation from its entry into the EPSCoR program of any EPSCoR state up until the time I left. I also played a role in bringing more funding to the EPSCoR community by my service on the Board of the EPSCoR Coalition.
 
Program Officer, Panel on Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology, Division of Integrated Biology and Neuroscience, National Science Foundation, Arlington, VA. September, 1995 - August, 1996. 

I was responsible for managing the investments into research of an annual budget of over $10,000,000 and the entire review process for the NSF program “Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology” and I co-managed the NSF/Department of Energy/NASA/USDA Program in “Terrestrial Ecology and Global Change”. I was also responsible for articulating the vision for these programs to the higher administration at NSF and to the research community, as well as working to develop new, interdisciplinary programs. Furthermore, I was responsible for concisely defending and supporting my funding recommendations to the upper administration at NSF, as well as working with principal investigators who were not successful in grant competitions in a manner that enabled them to increase their competitiveness in future competitions.
 
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERSHIPS: Ecological Society of America (current); American Association for the Advancement of Science (current); AAU Senior Research Officers (2003-2011); Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences (2011-2015); APLU Council on Academic Affairs (2015-2020).

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
​My most recent research focus is on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury in response to different silvicultural practices aimed at restoring longleaf pine ecosystems, as well as examining how longleaf pine seedlings respond to environmental stress. I spent a great deal of my career understanding the ecological effects of environmental change, particularly elevated CO2 and how elevated CO2 interacts with changes in patterns of temperature, nutrients and water to affect plant physiology and performance, plant communities, ecosystem productivity and carbon and nutrient flux in both natural and laboratory settings. Other research focused on integrating plant anatomical and physiological development, originally using eastern cottonwood as a model system, toward gaining new perspectives on the susceptibility of plants to abiotic and biotic stresses; and using this integrated perspective to assess whether variation in plant responses to environmental changes is related to the optimization of costs and benefits. My laboratory also used this perspective to examine the physiological and evolutionary ecology of low molecular weight plant heat shock proteins (hsps), and we were the first lab to demonstrate a physiological function of these hsps in protecting photosynthesis during heat stress, as well adding significantly to our understanding of the ecological and evolutionary causes and consequences of variation in hsp production by plants.
 
GRANTS (PI or Co-PI [or co-lead] on approximately $260,000,000 in grants and cooperative agreements) 
Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust Grant (1986).
 
NASA Graduate Student Fellowship in Global Change Research ($22,000/yr for three years 9/1/92-9/1/95) to my graduate student, Brian Wilsey. I was the co-principal investigator with Dr. Sam McNaughton.
 
National Science Foundation, Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Panel: Responses of plants to acute and chronic heat stress in a high CO2 environment: Linking molecular biology with physiological ecology (collaborative research with Richard Hallberg, Syracuse University),
$190,000 (9/15/92 - 9/15/95).
 
National Science Foundation, Division of Integrated Biology and Neuroscience, Young Investigator Award, $250,000 (7/93-7/99). (PI)
 
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation: Plant responses to stress: integrating molecular, developmental, physiological and ecological approaches. $125,000 (7/93-7/99). (PI)
 
National Science Foundation, Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Panel: Testing optimal partitioning andplant strategy theories: do conclusions differ when functional adjustments are distinguished from ontogenetic drift? $140,000 (7/94 -7/98). Collaborative research with Dr. Kelly McConnaughay, Bradley University.
 
National Science Foundation, Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology Panel: Dissertation Improvement: Nitrogen-plant-insect interactions: Integrating via a net effects approach. $6,890 (1/95-12/95). PI- Collaborative research with D. Alexander Wait and Clive G. Jones.
 
Department of Energy, EPSCoR: The Nevada Desert FACE facility: Responses of a desert ecosystem to long-term elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. $700,000 (9/97-8/00). Collaborative research with J. Seemann (PI), S. Smith and R. Nowak.
 
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation (and Nevada State Match): Exploring the sensitivity of different carbon and nitrogen fluxes to variation in the timing of an ecosystem perturbation: The use of EcoCELL technology for developing scaling strategies in ecosystem research. $537,126 (1/98 - 1/01). Collaborative research with R. D. Evans, W. Cheng, J. Arnone, Y. Luo and D. Johnson.
 
United States Department of Agriculture, CRSEES: UV-B Microclimate of High-Altitude Plant Communities. $23,115 (9/98-9/99 with $23,115 match). Collaborative Research with Melanie Wetzel (PI) and Yiqi Luo.
 
National Science Foundation. Constructing a long-term ecological research program at the NTS: Building on past EPSCoR success to create a scientific center of excellence in Nevada. $500,000 (5/98-5/00). PI-Collaborative Research with Stan Smith and Robert Nowak.
 
Interagency (NSF/DOE/USDA/NASA/NOAA) Program for Terrestrial Ecology and Global Change. Effects of elevated CO2 on a Mojave Desert ecosystem. $1,300,000 (9/1/98 - 8/30/01, award was made by NSF). Collaborative research with Stan Smith (PI), Jeff Seemann, R. Dave Evans, Brandon Moore, and Weixin Cheng.
 
Environmental Protection Agency, Nevada EPSCoR. Determining the role of plants and soils in the biogeochemical cycling of mercury on an ecosystem level. $400,000. (5/1/99 - 5/1/01). Collaborative research with Mae Gustin (PI), Dale Johnson and Steve Lindburgh.
 
National Science Foundation, EPSCoR. Research infrastructure for Nevada’s growth: Targeting research with uniqueness and excellence (RING-TRUE). 6/99 – 7/02. $3,000,000 (with an additional $4,100,000 match from the State of Nevada and “in-kind” match from UNR, UNLV and DRI for a total award of $7.1 million). PI
 
Department of Energy, Terrestrial Carbon Process. Biotic processes regulating the carbon balance of desert ecosystems. 9/00-8/03. $2,300,000. Collaborative Research with Jeff Seemann (PI), Stan Smith, Bob Nowak and Lynn Fenstermaker.
 
National Science Foundation, EPSCoR. Research infrastructure for Nevada’s growth: Targeting research with uniqueness and excellence II (RING-TRUE II). 8/02 – 8/05. $9,000,000 (with an additional $4,500,000 match from the State of Nevada). PI

National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources. eIRB: Online Education and Quality Assurance. (Administrative PI – with Office of Research IRB and computing Directors) 9/03 – 8/04. $100,000.
 
National Science Foundation, Partnerships for Innovation. Alliance for Collaborative Research in Alternative Fuel Technology. (Administrative PI; Peter Pfeifer scientific PI) 10/04 – 9/07. $591,637.
 
National Institutes of Health, National Center for Research Resources. National Swine Research and Resource Center (Administrative PI: science driven by Randy Prather and Lela Riley). 9/03 – 9/08. $2,848,226.
 
Economic Development Administration (US Department of Commerce), Life Sciences Incubator, (PI, co-PI was Jake Halliday). 5/05 – 5/09. $2,500,000
 
National Institutes of Health, National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, Regional Biocontainment Laboratory (Administrative PI; scientific PIs, George Stewart, Kim Wise and Lela Riley), $13,400,000 – construction beginning in Spring, 2007 to be completed by 2008. (PI transferred to Neil Olsen when I left Missouri).
 
Virginia and L.E. Simmons Family Foundation, Collaborative Research Fund (Administrative PI: this is a gift to Rice to fund collaborative research seed grants between Rice University, Texas Children’s Hospital and The Methodist Hospital Research Institute). $3,000,000. 9/08 – 8/13
 
Health Resources and Services Administration, Research Equipment for Rice University's Collaborative Research Center (PI), $355,037. 06/01/08 - 09/30/10. PI
 
Health Resources and Services Administration Research, Equipment for Rice University's BioScience Research Collaborative (PI), $ $377,190. 08/01/09 - 07/31/1. PI
 
Health Resources and Services Administration Research, Equipment for Rice University's BioScience Research Collaborative (PI), $ $445,000. 08/01/10 - 07/31/13. PI
 
National Center for Research Resources, NIH, Computational Biology Cluster (Administrative PI; Jan Odegard and Moshe Vardi scientific leadership), $1,635,302 08/12/2010 – 08/11/2011
 
APLU, Accelerating Adoption of Adaptive Courseware at Public Research Universities- Executive Sponsor (project leads are Pauline Entin and Don Carter), $575,000.
 
Infrastructure support for research and commercialization, Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation (co-led with Joe Steinmetz, Stacy Leeds and Laura Jacobs), $23,700,000 2018-2023
 
Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation (co-led with Joe Steinmetz, Stacy Leeds, Dan Sui and Laura Jacobs), $194.7million (the grant was awarded after I left Arkansas, but I played a co-lead role in the development of the proposal) 2020-2025
 
ADVANCE: University of Arkansas ENGAGE (Empowering Networked Groups for Arkansas Gender Equity). National Science Foundation. $1,000,000  August 2020- (I was a co-PI on the proposal and helped develop it with Shauna Morimoto (PI) and co-PIs Yvette Murphy-Erby, Kim Needy, and Kathy Sloan (UofA Provost Charles Robinson has replaced me as Co-PI)
 
Department of Energy, Office of Science, How does mercury methylation respond to intensive forest management and the creation of anoxia in floodplain soils? $132,285 (I am the PI who took over for Dr. Martin Tsui, with Co-PIs Alex Chow (Clemson) and Carl Trettin (US.Forest Service). 9/1/2020 -8/30/2022
 
National Science Foundation, Division of Earth Sciences, Collaborative Proposal: Response of mercury cycling to disturbance and restoration of low gradient forested watersheds. $164,740. 8/1/2019-7/31/2024. I am the PI (took over for Martin Tsui)
 
United States Department of Agriculture- NIFA, Storage, Reactivity, and Bioavailability of Mercury in Managed Forests - Balancing Mercury Toxicity and Wildfire Risks through Effective Fuel Reduction Techniques. $139,876 to UNCG. (I am the UNCG PI, taking over for Martin Tsui. Alex Chow is the PI from Clemson University.
 

ACADEMIC RECOGNITION:​
  • Red Cross Life Saving Award for Extraordinary Personal Action in helping to resuscitate a colleague who had a heart attack and stopped breathing during a meeting February 2021
  • Elected Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, 2019
  • NAU Commission on the Status of Women, 2016 Outstanding Achievement and Contribution. Award (on a team that received the award.)
  • Outstanding Administrator, 1998-1999, UCCSN Board of Regents NSF Young Investigator Award. 1993-1998
  • William W. Wasserstrom Prize for excellence in graduate education in the College of Arts and Sciences, Syracuse University 1995-1996 Academic Year (at the time the youngest faculty member to have ever received the prize) 

PUBLICATIONS IN PRINT (approximately 9,300 citations; H-index of 49 [data from Google Scholar] as of February 24): 
Murdoch, C.W., J.S. Coleman and R.J. Campana. 1983. Bark cracks associated with injection wounds in elm. Journal of Arboriculture 9: 61-64.
 
Coleman, J.S., C.W. Murdoch, R.J. Campana and W.H. Smith. 1985. Decay resistance of elm wetwood. Canadian Journal of Plant Pathology 7: 151-154. https://doi.org/10.1080/07060668509501492 

Coleman, J.S. 1986. Leaf development and leaf stress: increased susceptibility associated with sink-source transition. Tree Physiology 2: 289-299. https://doi.org/10.1093/treephys/2.1-2-3.289
 
Coleman, J.S., C.G. Jones and W.H. Smith. 1987. The effect of ozone on cottonwood - leaf rust interactions: independence of abiotic stress, genotype and leaf ontogeny. Canadian Journal of Botany 65: 949-953. https://doi.org/10.1139/b87-131
 
Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1988. Leaf disk size and insect preference: implications for assays and studies on induction of plant defense. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 47: 167-172.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1570-7458.1988.tb01132.x
 
Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1988. Plant stress and insect behavior: Cottonwood, ozone and the feeding and oviposition preference of a beetle. Oecologia 76: 51-56. doi.org/10.1007/BF00379599
 
Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1988. Plant stress and insect performance: Cottonwood, ozone and a leaf beetle. Oecologia 76: 57-61. doi.org/10.1007/BF00379600
 
Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1988. Acute ozone stress on eastern cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) and the pest potential of the aphid, Chaitophorus populicola Thomas (Homoptera:Aphididae). Environmental Entomology 17: 207- 212. https://doi.org/10.1139/b88-125
 
Coleman, J.S., C.G. Jones and W.H. Smith. 1988. Interactions between an acute ozone dose, eastern cottonwood, and Marssonina leaf spot: implications for pathogen community dynamics. Canadian Journal of Botany 66: 863-868. https://doi.org/10.1139/b88-125
 
Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1989. Biochemical indicators of air pollution effects in trees: Unambiguous signals based on secondary metabolism and nitrogen in fast-growing species? In: National Research Council. Biologic Markers of Air Pollution Stress and Damage in Forests. National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. pp. 261-273.
 
Coleman, J.S., H.A. Mooney and J.N. Gorham. 1989. Effects of multiple stresses on radish growth and resource allocation. I. Responses of wild radish plants to a combination of SO2 exposure and decreasing nitrate availability. Oecologia 81: 124-131. doi.org/10.1007/BF00377021
 
Coleman, J.S., H.A. Mooney and W.E. Winner. 1990. Anthropogenic stress and natural selection: Variability in radish biomass accumulation increases with increasing SO2 dose. Canadian Journal of Botany 68: 102-106. https://doi.org/10.1139/b90-014
 
Bazzaz, F.A., J.S. Coleman and S.R. Morse. 1990. The responses of seven major co- occurring trees of the northeastern United States to CO2. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 20: 1479-1484. https://doi.org/10.1139/x90-195
 
Winner,W.E., J.S. Coleman, C. Gillepsie, H.A. Mooney and E.J. Pell. 1991. Consequences of evolving resistance to air pollutants. In: Taylor, G.E. Jr. and L. Pitelka (eds.). Ecological Genetics and Air Pollution. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. pp. 177-202. DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-3060-1_10 

Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1991. Plant stress and insect herbivory: Toward an integrated perspective. In: H.A. Mooney, W.E. Winner and E.J. Pell (eds.) Integrated Responses of Plants to Environmental Stress. Academic Press, NY. pp. 249-282. https://lccn.loc.gov/90023925 

Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1991. A phytocentric perspective of phytochemical induction by herbivores.  In: D. Tallamy and M. Raupp (eds.).  Phytochemical Induction by Herbivores. J. Wiley and Sons. pp. 3-45. LCCN 90024394 

Coleman, J.S., L. Rochefort, F.A. Bazzaz, and F.I. Woodward. 1991. Effects of CO2 on plant performance, plant nitrogen status, and the susceptibility of plants to an acute increase in temperature. Plant, Cell and Environment 14: 667-674. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.1991.tb01539.x
 
Chu, C.C., J.S. Coleman and H.A. Mooney. 1992.  Examining the controls on the partitioning of biomass between roots and shoots: effects of elevated levels of CO2 on growth and resource use of California coastal wild radish. Oecologia 89: 580-587. doi.org/10.1007/BF00317167
 
Ackerly, D.D., J.S. Coleman, S.R. Morse and F.A. Bazzaz. 1992. Combined effects of temperature and elevated CO2 on morphogenetic processes in two annual plant species. Ecology 73: 1260-1269. https://doi.org/10.2307/1940674
 
Coleman, J.S. and F.A. Bazzaz. 1992. Interacting effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on growth and resource use of co-occurring annual plants. Ecology 73: 1244-1259. https://doi.org/10.2307/1940673
 
Coleman, J.S., C.G. Jones, and V.A. Krischik. 1992. Phytocentric and exploiter perspectives of phytopathology. Advances in Plant Pathology 8: 149-195. ISBN: 012033710X, 9780120337101
 
Jones, C.G., R.F. Hopper, J.S. Coleman, and V.A. Krischik.  1993.  Plant vasculature controls the distribution of systemically induced defense against an herbivore. Oecologia 93: 452-456. doi.org/10.1007/BF00317892
 
Coleman, J.S., K.D.M. McConnaughay, and F.A. Bazzaz. 1993. Elevated CO2 and plant nitrogen-use: Is reduced tissue nitrogen concentration size-dependent? Oecologia.93: 195- 200. doi.org/10.1007/BF00317671
 
Coleman, J.S., K.D. M. McConnaughay and D.D. Ackerly. 1994. Interpreting phenotypic variation in plants. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 9: 187-191. https://doi.org/10.1016/0169-5347(94)90087-6
 
Jones, C.G., J.S. Coleman, and S. Findlay. 1994. Effects of ozone on interactions among plants, consumers, and decomposers. In R. Alscher (ed.). Plant Responses to the Gaseous Environment. Chapman and Hall, London. pp. 339-363. DOI: 10.1007/978-94-011-1294-9_18 

Wilsey, B.J., S.J. McNaughton and J.S. Coleman. 1994. Will increases in atmospheric CO2 affect regrowth following grazing in grasses from tropical grasslands? A test with Sporobolus kentrophyllus. Oecologia 99: 141-144. doi.org/10.1007/BF00317094
 
Coleman, J.S. and A.S. Leonard. 1995. Why it matters where on a leaf a folivore feeds.
Oecologia 101: 324-328. doi.org/10.1007/BF00328818

Coleman, J.S., S.A. Heckathorn and R.L. Hallberg. 1995. Heat shock proteins and thermotolerance: Linking ecological and molecular perspectives. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10: 305-306. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0169-5347(00)89112-0

Coleman, J.S. and K.D.M McConnaughay. 1995. A non-functional interpretation of a classical optimal partitioning example. Functional Ecology 9: 951-954. www.jstor.org/stable/2389994
 
Hartvigsen, G., D.A. Wait, and J.S. Coleman. 1995. Tri-trophic interactions as influenced by resource availability: Predator effects on plant performance depend on resource level. Oikos 74: 463-468. doi.org/10.2307/3545991
 
Gedroc, J.J., K.D.M. McConnaughay, and J.S. Coleman. 1996. Plasticity in root/shoot partitioning: optimal, ontogenetic, or both? Functional Ecology 10: 44-50. doi.org/10.2307/2390260
 
Heckathorn, S.A., G.J. Polgreen, J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1996. Nitrogen availability alters the accumulation of stress-induced proteins in plants. Oecologia 105: 413- 418. doi.org/10.1007/BF00328745
 
Heckathorn, S.A., G.J. Polgreen, J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1996. Influence of nitrogen and development on the dynamics of rubisco and pepcase content in response to heat stress. International Journal of Plant Sciences 157: 546-553. https://doi.org/10.1086/297374
 
Coleman, J.S. and K. Schneider. 1996. Evidence suggesting that ABA may not regulate changes in growth and biomass partitioning in response to low soil resource availability. Oecologia 106: 273-278. doi.org/10.1007/BF00334555

McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1996. A tale of two universities: A PUI (predominantly undergraduate institution)/research institution collaboration at work. Council on Undergraduate Research Quarterly (Dec. 1996); 68-70.
 
Heckathorn, S.A., J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1998. Recovery of net CO2 assimilation after heat stress is correlated with recovery of levels of oxygen evolving-complex proteins in Zea mays L. Photosynthetica: 34: 13-20. doi.org/10.1023/A:1006899314677
 
Wilsey, B.J., J.S. Coleman and S.J. McNaughton. 1997. Effects of defoliation and elevated CO2 on grasses: a comparative ecosystem approach. Ecological Applications: 7: 844-853. https://doi.org/10.1890/1051-0761(1997)007[0844:EOECAD]2.0.CO;2
 
Mabry, C.M., M. Jasienski, J.S. Coleman and F.A. Bazzaz. 1997. Genotypic variation in Polygonum pensylvanicum: nutrient effects on plant growth and aphid infestation. Canadian Journal of Botany 75: 546-551. https://doi.org/10.1139/b97-060
 
Downs, C., S.A. Heckathorn, J.S. Coleman and J. Bryan. 1998. The methionine-rich low- molecular-weight chloroplast heat shock protein: evolutionary conservation and accumulation in relation to thermotolerance. American Journal of Botany 85: 175-183.https://doi.org/10.2307/2446306
 
Heckathorn, S.A., C.A. Downs, T.D. Sharkey and J.S. Coleman. 1998. A small chloroplast heat-shock protein protects photosystem II during heat stress. Plant Physiology 116: 439- 444. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.116.1.439
 
Heckathorn, S.A., C.A. Downs and J.S. Coleman. 1998. Nuclear-encoded chloroplast proteins accumulate in the cytosol during severe heat stress. International Journal of Plant Sciences. 159: 39-45. https://doi.org/10.1086/297519
 
Heckathorn, S.A., S.J. McNaughton and J.S. Coleman. 1999. C4 photosynthesis and herbivory. In: R. Sage and R. Monson (eds). The biology of C4 photosynthesis. Academic Press. San Diego, pages 285-312. books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=H7Wv9ZImW-QC&oi=fnd&pg=PA285&ots=u-SwU1kt_a&sig=EtAKpTF-S3YZ7qpIIRZ2xaK1VXY#v=onepage&q&f=false
 
McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1998. Can plants track changes in nutrient availability via changes in biomass partitioning? Plant and Soil 202: 201-209. doi.org/10.1023/A:1004341731703
 
Wait, D.A., C.G. Jones, J.S. Coleman and M. Schaedle. 1998. Effects of nitrogen fertilization on leaf chemistry and beetle feeding are mediated by changes in leaf development. Oikos: 82: 502-514. www.jstor.org/stable/3546371

Hamilton, E.W. III, M.S. Giovannini, S.J. Moses, J.S. Coleman, and S.J. McNaughton. 1998. Biomass and mineral element responses of a Serengeti short grass species to nitrogen supply and defoliation: Compensation requires a critical [N]. Oecologia 116: 407-418.
 
Huxman, T.E., E.P. Hammerlynk, S.D. Smith, D.N. Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, R.S. Nowak, J.S. Coleman and J.R. Seemann. 1999. Photosynthetic down-regulation in Larrea tridentata exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2: Interaction with drought under glasshouse and field (FACE) exposure. Plant, Cell and Environment 21: 1153-1161.  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3040.1998.00379.x
 
Downs, C.A., J.S. Coleman, and S.A. Heckathorn. 1999. The chloroplast 22-Ku heat-shock protein: A lumenal protein that associates with the oxygen evolving complex and protects photosystem II during heat stress. Journal of Plant Physiology 155: 477-487. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0176-1617(99)80042-X
 
McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1999. Biomass allocation in plants: ontogeny or optimality? A test along three resource gradients. Ecology 80: 2581-2593. https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1999)080[2581:BAIPOO]2.0.CO;2
 
Jordan, D.N., S.F. Zitzer, G.R. Hendrey, K.F. Lewin, R.S. Nowak, S.D. Smith, J.S. Coleman and J.R. Seemann. 1999. Biotic, abiotic and performance aspects of the Nevada Desert Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) facility. Global Change Biology 5: 659-668. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.1999.00255.x

​Heckathorn, S.A., C.A. Downs, and J.S. Coleman. 1999. Small heat shock proteins protect electron transport in chloroplasts and mitochondria during stress. American Zoologist 39: 865-876. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/39.6.865
 
Wells, S.G., J.S. Coleman, J.N. Crowley and K.W. Hunter. 1999. Cooperative efforts around Lake Tahoe (Correspondence, not peer-reviewed). Nature 402: 348.
 
Cheng, W., D. Sims, Y. Luo, D. Johnson, T. Ball, and J.S. Coleman. 2000.Carbon budgeting in plant–soil mesocosms under elevated CO2: locally missing carbon? Global Change Biology 6: 99-110.  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00284.x
 
Luo, Y., D. Hui, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson and D.A. Sims. 2000. Canopy quantum yield in a mesocosm study. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 100: 35-48. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(99)00085-4
 
Hammerlynk, E.P., T.E. Huxman, S.D. Smith, R.S. Nowak, S. Redar, M.E. Loik, D.N. Jordan, D.A., S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman and J.R. Seemann. 2000. Photosynthetic responses in contrasting Mojave Desert shrub species to increased CO2 concentration at the Nevada Desert FACE facility. Journal of Arid Environments 44: 425-436. https://doi.org/10.1006/jare.1999.0615
 
Taub, D., J.R. Seemann, and J.S. Coleman. 2000, Growth at elevated CO2 protects photosynthesis from damage by high temperature. Plant, Cell and Environment 23: 649- 656. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-3040.2000.00574.x
 
Pataki, D.E., T.E. Huxman, D.N Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, S.D. Smith, R.S. Nowak and J.R. Seemann. 2000. Water use of Mojave Desert shrubs under elevated CO2. Global Change Biology 6: 889-898.  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00360.x
 
Preczewski, P., S.A. Heckathorn, C.A. Downs and J.S. Coleman. 2000. Photosynthetic thermotolerance is quantitatively and positively correlated with the production of specific heat shock protein among nine genotypes of tomato. Photosynthetica 38: 127-134. doi.org/10.1023/A:1026760311255
 
Ackerly, D.D., S.A. Dudley, S.E. Sultan, J. Schmitt, J.S. Coleman, R. Linder, D.R. Sandquist, M.A. Geber, A.S. Evans, T.E. Dawson and M.J. Lechowicz. 2000. The evolution of plant ecophysiological traits: Recent advances and future directions. BioScience 50: 979-995. https://doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2000)050[0979:TEOPET]2.0.CO;2

Smith, S.D., T.E. Huxman, S. F. Zitzer, T.N. Charlet, D.C. Housman, J. S. Coleman, L. K. Fenstermaker, J.R. Seemann, and R.S. Nowak. 2000 Elevated CO2 increases productivity and invasive species success in an arid ecosystem. Nature 408: 79-82. doi.org/10.1038/35040544
 
Bernacchi, C.J., J.S. Coleman, F.A. Bazzaz and K.D. M. McConnaughay. 2000. Biomass allocation in old-field annual species grown in elevated CO2 environments: no evidence for optimal partitioning. Global Change Biology 6: 855-863.  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00370.x
 
Cheng, W., D.S. Sims, Y. Luo, J.S. Coleman and D.W. Johnson. 2000. Photosynthesis, respiration and net primary production of sunflower stands in ambient and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentrations: an invariant NPP:GPP ratio? Global Change Biology 6: 931-942. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2000.00367.x
 
Hamilton, E.W. III and J.S. Coleman. 2001. Heat-shock proteins are induced in unstressed leaves of Nicotiana attenuata when distant leaves are stressed. American Journal of Botany 88: 950-955. https://doi.org/10.2307/2657048
 
Hui, D., D.A. Sims, D.W. Johnson, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman and Y. Luo. 2001. Canopy water and water use efficiencies at elevated CO2. Global Change Biology 7: 75-92.  https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2001.00391.x
 
Hamilton III, E.W., S.J. McNaughton and J.S. Coleman. 2001. Soil Na stress: Molecular, physiological and growth responses in four Serengeti C4 grasses. American Journal of Botany 88: 1258-1265.   https://doi.org/10.2307/3558337
 
Nowak, R.S., D.N. Jordan, L.A. DeFalco, C.S. Wilcox, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, and S.D. Smith. 2001. Effects of Elevated Atmospheric CO2 on Leaf Conductance and Temperature for Three Desert Perennials at the Nevada Desert FACE Facility. New Phytologist 150: 449-458.  www.jstor.org/stable/1353750

DeLucia, E.H., J.S. Coleman, T.E. Dawson, and R.B. Jackson. 2001. Plant physiological ecology: linking the organism to scales above and below (meeting report). New Phytologist 149: 9-16.   https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1469-8137.2001.00023-2.x
 
Wait, D.A., J.S. Coleman and C.G. Jones. 2002. Chrysomela scripta, Plagiodera versicolora (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidia), and Trichoplusia ni (Lepodoptera: Noctuidae) track specific leaf developmental stages. Environmental Entomology 31: 836-843. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X-31.5.836
 
Johnson, D.W., J. A. Benesch, M. S. Gustin, D. S. Schorran, S. E. Lindberg, J. S. Coleman. 2003. Experimental evidence against diffusion control of Hg evasion from soils. Science of the Total Environment 304: 175-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0048-9697(02)00567-3
​
Ericksen, J.A., M.S. Gustin, D.S. Schorran, D.W. Johnson, S.E. Lindberg and J.S. Coleman. 2003. Accumulation of atmospheric mercury by forest foliage. Atmospheric Environment 37: 1613-1622. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(03)00008-6
 
Obrist, D., P.S.J. Verburg, M.H. Young, J.S. Coleman, D.E. Schorran, J.A. Arnone III. 2003. Quantifying the effects of phenology on ecosystem evapotranspiration in planted grassland mesocosms using EcoCELL technology. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 118: pp. 173-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-1923(03)00111-4
 
Weatherly, H.E., S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, and J.A. Arnone. 2003. In situ litter decomposition and litter quality in a Mojave Desert ecosystem: effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 and interannual climate variability. Global Change Biology 9: 1223- 1233. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2486.2003.00653.x
 
Coleman, J.S. 2003. Creating waves of change: How is the Bayh-Dole Act shaping the landscape of graduate education? Merrill Advanced Studies Center Report 107: 59-62. (invited but not formally peer reviewed). https://journals.ku.edu/merrill/issue/view/1088
 
Verburg, P.S.J., J.A. Arnone III, D. Obrist, D.W. Johnson, D. Lerourx-Swarthout, D.E. Schorran, Y. Luo, R.D. Evans, and J.S. Coleman. 2004. Net ecosystem carbon exchange in two experimental grassland ecosystems. Global Change Biology 10: 498-508.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1529-8817.2003.00744.x
 
Nowak, R.S., S.F. Zitzer, D. Babcock, V. Smith-Longozo, T.N. Charlet, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann and S.D. Smith. 2004. Elevated atmospheric CO2  does not conserve soil moisture in the Mojave Desert. Ecology 85: 93-99. www.jstor.org/stable/3450470
 
Gustin, M.S., J.A. Ericksen, D.E. Schorran, D.W. Johnson, S.E. Lindberg, J.S. Coleman. 2004. Application of controlled mesocosms for understanding mercury air-soil-plant exchange. Environmental Science and Technology 38: 6044-6050. https://doi.org/10.1021/es0487933
 
Coleman, J.S. 2005. Undergraduate research participation as an essential component of a research university: A perspective of a chief research officer. Council of Undergraduate Research Quarterly: June, 2005: 154-155./C:/Users/jscoleman/Downloads/summer2005_v25.4_coleman.pdf

Gould, G.G., C.G. Jones, P. Rifleman, A. Perez, and J.S. Coleman. 2007. Variation in Eastern Cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr.) phloem sap content and toughness due to leaf Development may affect feeding site Selection behavior of the aphid, Chaitophorous populicola Thomas (Homoptera: Aphididae). Environmental Entomology 36: 1212:1225. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X(2007)36[1212:VIECPD]2.0.CO;2
 
Bernacchi, C.J., J.N. Thompson, J.S. Coleman, K.D.M. McConnaughay. 2007. Allometric Analysis Reveals Relatively Little Variation in Nitrogen vs. Biomass Accrual in Four Plant Species Exposed to Varying Light, Nutrients, Water, and CO2. Plant, Cell and Environment 30: 1216:1222. 
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3040.2007.01698.x
 
Barua, D., S.A. Heckathorn, J.S. Coleman. 2008. Variation in heat-shock proteins and photosynthetic thermotolerance among natural populations of Chenopodium album L. from contrasting thermal environments: implications for plant responses to global warming. Journal of Integrative Plant Biology: 50: 1440-1451.  https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7909.2008.00756.x

​Arnone, J.A. III, P.S.J. Verburg, D.W. Johnson, J.D. Larsen, R.L. Jasoni, A.J. Lucchesi, C.M. Batts, C. von Nagy, W.G. Coulombe, D.E. Schorran, P.E. Buck, B.H. Braswell, J.S. Coleman, R.A. Sherry, L.L. Wallace, Y. Luo and D.S. Schimel. 2008. Prolonged suppression of ecosystem carbon dioxide uptake after an anomalously warm year. Nature 455:383-386. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature07296

Sui, D. and J. Coleman. 2020. Convergence Research in the Age of Big Data: Team Science, Institutional Strategies, and Beyond. Merrill Advanced Studies Center Report 123:23-35. https://doi.org/10.1603/0046-225X(2007)36[1212:VIECPD]2.0.CO;2

Coleman J.S. 2022. Considering Equality, Equity in Biology Instruction. American Biology Teacher 84: 387-388. https://doi.org/10.1525/abt.2022.84.7.387

​PUBLISHED ABSTRACTS AND PRESENTATIONS AT SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS: 
  • Murdoch, C.W., J.S. Coleman and R.J. Campana. 1982. Bark cracks associated with injection wounds in elms. Phytopathology 72: 259.
  • Hoch, J.G., R.J. Campana, J.S. Coleman and C.W. Murdoch. 1982. Stem cankers mimic Dutch elm disease symptoms in Maine. Phytopathology 72: 262.
  • Coleman, J.S., R.J. Campana and C.W. Murdoch. 1982. Inhibition of decay in bacterial- stained wood of American elm (Ulmus americana L.). Phytopathology 72: 958-959.
  • Coleman, J.S., C.W. Murdoch, R.J. Campana and W.H. Smith. 1984. Investigations on the decay resistance of elm wetwood. Phytopathology 74: 869-870 
  • Coleman, J.S., C.G. Jones and W.H. Smith. 1985. The effect of ozone on two cottonwood pest interactions. 17th Annual Air Pollution Workshop. Raleigh, NC. April 15-17, 1985.
  • Coleman, J.S. 1985. Leaf sink-source transition and susceptibility to biotic and abiotic stress agents: an ecological perspective of physiological concepts. IUFRO International Symposium on Whole-Plant Physiology. Knoxville, TN. October 6-11, 1985.
  • Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1986. The effect of ozone on the interaction of eastern cottonwood with a leaf chewing beetle and a pathogenic rust. Entomological Society of America, Hollywood, FL.
  • Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1986. Effects of ambient ozone stress on cottonwood resistance to its insect and pathogen community. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 67: 116.
  • Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1988. A phytocentric perspective of phytochemical induction by herbivores. Meeting of the International Entomological Society, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. July 3 - July 7.
  • Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1988. Leaf sink-source transition and susceptibility to insects and pathogens: some ecological perspectives. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 69: 103. 
  • Jones, C.G. and J.S. Coleman. 1989. An integrated approach to studying plant-herbivore interactions: the effect of ozone on cottonwood resistance to a leaf beetle. International Society of Chemical Ecology. Sweden, August 7-11, 1989.
  • Morse, S.R., J.S. Coleman and F.A. Bazzaz. 1989. Combined effects of CO2 and temperature on germination and survivorship of two plant species with different photosynthetic pathways when grown in monocultures. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 70: 210. 
  • Coleman, J.S., S. R. Morse and F.A. Bazzaz. 1989. Combined effects of CO2 and temperature on growth and resource allocation of two sympatric plant species with different photosynthetic pathways. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 70: 64. 
  • Coleman, J.S. and F.A. Bazzaz. 1991. Using plant growth analysis to determine plant nitrogen use efficiency under differing availabilities of carbon and nitrogen. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 72: 91-92 
  • Hartvigsen, G., D.A. Wait, and J.S. Coleman. 1992. Cottonwood, herbivorous mites and predatory mites: the effect of plant nutrient supply on three-trophic level interactions. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 73: 100.
  • Coleman, J.S. and C.G. Jones. 1992. Leaf ontogeny and plant phenology as regulators of plant-herbivore interactions. Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions. February, 1992.
  • Wait, D.A., C.G. Jones and J.S. Coleman. 1993. Fertilization and herbivore feeding: the relationship between leaf ontogeny and leaf biochemical composition. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 74: 474.
  • Coleman, J.S. and D.A. Wait. 1993. Leaf ontogeny and herbivore preference: do herbivores care about leaf chronological age, developmental stage, or position on the stem. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 74: 197.
  • Wait, D.A., C.G. Jones and J.S. Coleman. 1994. Nutrient supply, leaf nitrogen, and phenol glycoside composition in cottonwood: How they interact to affect beetle feeding? 11th Annual Meeting of the International Society of Chemical Ecology, Syracuse, NY. June 4-8, 1994.
  • Polgreen, G.J., J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1994. Plant nutrient availability and thermotolerance: Linking molecular and ecological approaches. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 75: 182-183
  • Heckathorn, S.A., G.J. Polgreen, J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1994. Effect of induced variation in heat shock proteins on photosynthesis: Linking molecular and whole-plant processes. Plant Physiology Supplement.
  • Heckathorn, S.A., G.J. Polgreen, J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1995. Effect of induced variation in hsp accumulation on photosynthesis: Evidence that hsps limit damage to the oxygen evolving complex proteins and photosystem II function during heat stress at the cost of soluble enzymes involved in CO2 fixation. 1995 Gordon Research Conference on Temperature Stress in Plants. Oxnard, CA, January 29 - February 2, 1995.
  • Wait, D.A., C.G. Jones and J.S. Coleman. 1995. Manipulation of leaf development and chemistry with novel use of fertilization: Leaf development determines shere beetles feed and leaf chemistry determines how much they consume. 1995 Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions. Oxnard, CA, February 5 - February 9, 1995.
  • Wilsey, B.J, J.S. Coleman and S.J. McNaughton. 1995. Effects of elevated CO2 on plant- grazer interactions: the importance of urine-hits and simulated grazing on the response of C3 grass from Yellowstone National Park. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 76: 285.
  • Wait, D.A., J.S. Coleman, and C.G. Jones. 1995. Net effects of herbivory on plant performance measured under dynamic nutrient supply in the field. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 76: 276.
  • McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1995. Allocational plasticity in old-field annuals: optimal partitioning or ontogenetic drift? Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America 76: 174-175.
  • Coleman, J.S. and K.D.M. McConnaughay. 1996. Ontogenetic constraints to allocational plasticity in old-field annuals. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 
  • McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1996. Plasticity in reproductive allocation patterns in old-field annuals. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Hamilton, E.W., S.A. Heckathorn, C.A. Downs, T.E. Schwarz, J.S. Coleman and R.L. Hallberg. 1996. Heat shock proteins are produced by field-grown naturally occurring plants in the summer in the temperate northeast United States. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Heckathorn, S.A., J.S. Coleman, and R.L. Hallberg. 1996. Evidence for photosynthetic trade-offs associated with heat-shock protein production in plants. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Wait, D.A., J.S. Coleman and C.G. Jones. 1996. Plant responses to defoliation and damage depend on the trajectory of their relative growth rate. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • McConnaughay, K.D.M. and J.S. Coleman. 1997. Plasticity in the use of nitrogen in biomass production for three old-field annuals along gradients of light, water and nutrients. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 
  • Coleman, J.S. 1998. Studies of adaptive variation of heat shock proteins in plants. 49th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Hui, D., Y. Luo, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson and D.A. Sims. 1998. Quantum yield, canopy development, and carbon flux in a mesocosm study. 49th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Hamilton, E. W. III, J.S. Coleman, and S.J. McNaughton, 1998. Variation in physiological and biochemical responses to soil Na: Adaptations in four C4 grasses from the Serengeti short-grass plains. 49th Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America. 
  • Cheng, W., J.T. Ball, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson, W. Liu, Y. Luo, D. Schorran, D.A. Sims and E. Sotoodeh. 1998. An integrative study of shoot and root respiration under elevated CO2. Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Baltimore, MD. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Pataki, D.E., T.E. Huxman, D.N Jordan, S.F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, S.D. Smith, R.S. Nowak and J.R. Seemann. 1998. Water use of Mojave Desert shrubs under elevated CO2. American Geophysical Union, December, 1998.
  • Coleman, J.S., D.N. Jordan, R.S. Nowak, J.R. Seemann and S.D. Smith. 1999. The Nevada Global Environmental Change program (NevGEC). Mojave Desert Science Symposium, Las Vegas, NV, February, 1999.
  • Cheng, W., D.A. Sims, Y. Luo, J.S. Coleman and D.W. Johnson. 1999. Sunflower canopy photosynthesis and respiration under elevated CO2: Percent increase means what? Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Hui, D., Y. Luo, W. Cheng, J.S. Coleman, D.W. Johnson and D.A. Sima. 1999. Effects of elevated CO2 on canopy radiation and water use efficiencies. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Taub, D.R., J.R. Seemann and J.S. Coleman. 1999. Growth at elevated CO2 increases photosynthetic tolerance at high temperature. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Houseman, D., S. F. Zitzer, J.S. Coleman, R. S. Nowak and J.R. Seemann. 1999. Survival and growth characteristics of naturally recruited seedlings of Mojave Desert shrubs Larrea tridentata and Ambrosia dumosa exposed to elevated atmospheric CO2 (FACE) during a wet year. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Spokane, WA. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Taub, D.B., J.R. Seemann and J.S. Coleman. 2000. Effect of growth at low atmospheric CO2 on plant photosynthetic tolerance of high temperatures. Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Snowbird, UT. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Zitzer, S., J.S. Coleman, R. Nowak, J.R. Seemann, and S. Smith. 2000. Litter accumulation beneath Mojave Desert shrubs exposed to predicted 21st century atmospheric CO2 levels using Free Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE). Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Snowbird, UT. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Coleman, J.S., R. B. Jackson and T.E. Dawson (organizers). 2000. Plant physiological ecology: Linking the organism to scales above and below. Symposium, Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America, Snowbird, UT. Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America.
  • Nowak, R.S., D.N. Jordan, L.A. DeFalco, J.S. Coleman, J.R. Seemann, and S.D. Smith. 2000. Effects of elevated atmospheric CO2 on leaf conductance and temperature for three desert perennials at the Nevada Desert FACE facility. International FACE meeting, Japan.
  • Nowak, R.S., J.R. Seemann, J.S. Coleman, and S.D. Smith. 2000. Responses of vegetation to elevated atmospheric CO2: The Nevada Desert FACE facility. International FACE meeting, Japan.
  • Frescholtz, T.F., Gustin, M.S., Schorran, D.E., The role of vegetation in mercury cycling at mercury enriched mine sites, American Geophysical Union Meeting, San Francisco, CA, Dec. 2001.
  • Gustin, M., Sexauer, Benesch, J. A., Schorran, D.E., Johnson, D.A.,, Lindberg, S.A., Coleman, J. Assessing the effect of plants on mercury emissions from substrate, poster presented at the 6th International Conference on Hg as Global Pollutant, Minamata, Japan, October 2001.
  • Benesch, J. A., Gustin, M.A., Schorran, D.E., Coleman, J., Johnson, D.A., Lindberg, S.E., Determining the role of plants in the biogeochemical cycling of mercury on an ecosystem level, paper to be presented at the 6th International Conference on Hg as Global Pollutant, Minamata, Japan, October 2001.
  • Johnson, D.W., Benesch, J.A., Gustin, M.S., Schorran, D.E., Coleman, J., Lindberg, S.E., Soil gaseous Hg concentrations: Evidence against diffusive control of flux paper to be presented at the 6th International Conference on Hg as Global Pollutant, Minamata, Japan, October 2001.
  • Gustin, M.S., J. Benesch, J. Frescholtz, D. Schorran, D. Johnson, S. Lindberg, and J. Coleman. 2002. Forests as sources of new mercury to ecosystems. American Society of Limnology and Oceanography, Victoria, BC.
  • Babcock, D.H., S.F. Zitzer, D.C. Houseman, L.K. Fenstermaker, R.S. Nowak, S.D. Smith and J.S. Coleman. Influence of microsite and elevated CO2 (FACE) on recruitment, survivaland growth of desert shrubs. Ecological Society of America Meeting, Tucson, AZ, August, 2002.
  • Verburg, P.S., J.A. Arnone, R.D. Evans, D. Leroux-Swarthout, D. Obrist, D.W. Johnson, Y. Luo and J.S. Coleman. The potential of short-rotation cropping systems to sequester C. Ecological Society of America Meeting, Tucson, AZ, August, 2002.
  • Thompson, J., C. Bernacchi, J.S. Coleman and K.D.M. McConnaughay. 2002. C/N Ratios in Four Species of Plants Exposed to Varying Light, Nutrients, Water, and CO2. Ecological Society of America Meeting, Tucson, AZ, August, 2002.
  • Coleman J.S., Trettin C.(presenter), Martin Tsz-KI Tsui, Alex Chow Yenner Ulus. 2021.  How does mercury methylation respond to intensive forest management and the creation of anoxia in flood plain soils?   Department of Energy, ESS program PI meeting.  August, 2021
  • Coleman JS, Y Ulus, Labonte P, Tsui MTK, Chow AT, Trettin CC. 2022. .  How does mercury methylation respond to intensive forest management and the creation of anoxia in flood plain soils? Department of Energy, ESS Program PI meeting, May 2022.
  • Coleman JS, Y Ulus, Labonte P, Tsui MTK, Chow AT, Trettin CC. 2022. .  How does mercury methylation respond to intensive forest management and the creation of anoxia in flood plain soils? Department of Energy, ESS Program PI meeting, May 2022. US Forest Service Santee Experimental Forest PI meeting, May, 2022
  • Morales K, Tsui MTK, Coleman JS, Schug M. 2022 Methylmerury (MeHg) and artificial wetlands.  Do invertebrates in an around constructed artificial wetlands have elevated concentration of MeHg? Join Aquatic Sciences Meeting, May, 2022
  • Morales K, Tsui MTK, Coleman JS, Schug M. 2022.  Assessing methylmercury concentrations in invertebrates inhabiting constructed artificial wetlands. International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant. July 2022
  • Ulus Y, Labonte P, Coleman JS, Tsui MTK, Chow AT,Trettin CC. 2022.  Alteration of mercury cycling in forested wetland watersheds by common forest management prescriptions. International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant. July 2022
  • Tsui MTK, Coleman JS, Ulus Y, Ku P,  Blum J, Johnson M, Kwon SY, Chong J, Farmer T, Chow A, Devandra A, Trettin CC. 2022. Mercury isotopic compositions in paired experimental forest watersheds with long-term forest management, International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant,. July , 2022
  • Coleman JS, Ulus Y, Morales K, Labonte P, Tsui MT-K, Chow AT, Trettin CC. 2023. How Does Mercury Methylation Respond to Intensive Forest Management and the Creation of Anoxia in Floodplain Soils?  Department of Energy, ESS Program PI meeting, May 2023.
  • Ulus, Y, Morales K, Labonte P, Coleman JS, Tsui MT-K, Trettin CC, Chow AT. 2023. Alteration of Mercury Cycling in Forested Wetland Watersheds by Common Forest Management Prescriptions. Goldschmidt Conference, Lyon, France. July, 2023
COURSES TAUGHT
  • Readings in Population Biology: The cost of plant defense. (Fall, 1990; Spring 1995) Plant Physiology (Fall, 1991; Fall 1992; Fall 1993; Fall 1994; Fall 1996)
  • Physiology Laboratory (Fall 1993; Fall 1994)
  • Freshman Forum (Fall 1993; Fall 1994; Fall 1996) Undergraduate Seminar in Population Biology (Fall, 1991)
  • Undergraduate Independent Research and Study in Population Biology (Fall 1991; Spring 1992; Fall 1992; Spring 1993; Fall 1993; Spring 1994; Fall 1994, Spring 1995; Fall 1996)
  • Topics in Population Biology: Plant-Herbivore Interactions (Spring, 1991) Species Interactions (Spring 1993; Spring 1994, Spring 1995)
  • Capstone Seminar in Environmental Sciences (Spring 1997)
  • Global Change Biology (Spring, 2012) (I was only a participant in this class - but attended and interacted with students in almost all of the classes and gave a lecture- the class was taught by Christopher Gough)
  • Risk-takers and job creators (Spring 2013) - I co-taught this course with the Associate Dean for Research. The course introduces students to alumni or community members with backgrounds in liberal arts and sciences, who have created their own companies.
  • Biology Capstone Course- Comparing Salt Marsh and Desert Ecosystems in their Response to Climate Change - (Fall, 2014- co-taught with Don Young)
  • Climate Change – (Spring 2019; co-taught with Peter Ungar)
  • Principles of Biology- (Spring 2021- audited course and assisted Iglika Pavlova in teaching)
  • Ecology (Spring 2021- audited and assisted Gideon Wasserberg in teaching)
  • The Biosphere (Fall 2021; Spring 2022, Fall 2022- undergraduate class)
  • Environmental Health Sciences I: Organisms to Ecosystems (Fall 2021; Fall 2022- Required course for new Ph.D. students)
  • Evolution (Spring 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Plant Physiological Ecology (Fall 2022 graduate and undergraduate)
  • Biology Lab Rotations (Fall 2022, Fall 2023)
  • Ecology (Fall 2023)
  • Introduction to Graduate Studies (Fall 2023)
 
GRADUATE STUDENTS IN MY LABORATORY
  • :Lori Brisbin (completed M.S. 1991; Vice President, Precision Medicine, Texas Oncology)
  • Gretchen Polgreen (completed M.S., 12/94; winner of University Prize for most outstanding M.S. thesis; High School Science teacher))
  • D. Alexander Wait (Ph.D.; completed 2/97: Professor, Missouri State University; NSF Dissertation Improvement grant awardee)
  • Brian J. Wilsey (Ph.D.; co-advisor with Dr. Samuel J. McNaughton; completed August, 1995; winner of Guerevtich Award for best Ph.D. thesis in Biology Department; Professor Iowa State University)
  • Sherri Gross (Ph.D. candidate; co-advisor with Dr. Larry Wolf; completed May 2000)
  • Jenifer Sabol (M.S. candidate, left for Dental School: US Army Dentist)
  • Craig Downs (M.S - completed 1997; Ph.D. University of Hawaii; Chairman of the Board, Global Coral Repository; Executive Director, Haereticus Environmental Lab; Invited Professor Sorbonne University)
  • Deepak Barua (Ph.D. candidate; completed degree under Scott Heckathorn; May 2003); Associate Professor Department of Biology Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune, India. )
  • Georgianna Gould (Ph.D; co-advised with Larry Wolf; completed 2001; Associate Professor ,UT Health San Antonio, Cellular and Integrative Physiology)
  • Bill Hamilton (Ph.D., completed, 1999; co-advised with Sam McNaughton; Professor and Biology, Department Chair, Washington and Lee)
  • Kristina Morales (Ph,.D. expected completions in 2022; originally advised by Martin Tsui and also advised by Malcolm Schug)
  • Jorden Winter (Ph.D., entered in in Fall 2022)
  • Daxx McGee (MS-non thesis. Fall 2023)
  • Nick Wolff (MS non-thesis 2023)
  • Aisha Mohammed (MS non-thesis 2023)

GRADUATE COMMITTEES:
  • Doug Frank (completed 1991: Professor  Syracuse University)
  • Fran Lissemore (completed 1993; Senior Research Associate, Case Western University)
  • Kevin Williams (completed 1993: Professor Bloomsberg State University)
  • Gregg Hartvigsen (completed 1995; Professor SUNY-Geneseo)
  • Yuying Hsu (completed 1997; Professor National Taiwan Normal University)
  • Brenda Price Latham (completed 1997)
  • Ben Tracy (completed 1996; Professor, Virginia Tech)
  • Mahesh Sankaran (completed May 2001; Professor National Center for Biological Research, Bangalore)
  • Travis Huxman (completed January 2000: Professor, University of California-Irvine)
  • Dani Obrist (completed December 2002; Professor and Department Chair, U. Mass-Lowell)
  • Amy Dona (completed May, 2005)
  • Katie Becklin (completed 2009; Assistant Professor, Syracuse University)
  • Cynthia Scheuermann (M.S., completed 2016; Natural Resource Specialist, Virginia Department of Forestry)
  • Amanda Scholes (Ph.D.,2019: Molecular Biologist, Signature Science LLC)
  • Megan Reavis (Ph.D., Completed 12.2021; Sustainability Analyst, Dairy Farmers of America)
  • Raza Ullah (Ph.D expected completion 2024)
  • Sara Gora (MS 2022)
  • Rose Terry (Ph.D.- expected completion 2024-2025)
  • Christian Lopezguerra (Ph.D.- expected completion 2024 2025)
  • Shiva Thapa (Ph.D.: expected completion 2024-2025)
  • Will Mann (M.S.- expected Completion 2023-2024)
  • Zach Bunch (M.S. expected completion Dec. 2023)
  • Abreham Alemu (PhD expected completion 2025)
  • Shelby Williford (PhD expected completion 2025) 
 
UNDERGRADUATES CONDUCTING INDEPENDENT RESEARCH IN MY LABORATORY (OR WITH ME):
  • Gunnar Kleemann (honors; honors thesis completed 1995)
  • Michele Giovannini (honors; completed 1994; recipient of Lundgren Award-published with me)
  • Lori Clark (honors; completed 1994; recipient of SU scholar and Lundgren Award)
  • A. Soren Leonard (completed 1994;published with me)
  • Tara Houndt (honors; completed 1993))
  • Richard Lee (completed 1993)
  • Bill Hamilton (completed 1992; published with me)
  • Karin Schneider (completed 1995: published with me)
  • Paul Pryczewski (completed 1997: published with me)
  • Sean Metivier (completed 1997)
  • Jessica Rabenold (2002-2007; worked with Candi Galen, Mannie Liscum and me)
  • Carlos Morales Sanchez undergraduate (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Hope Agresti Undergraduate (Fall 2022; Spring 2023)
  • Nya Rieves, Undergraduate,(Fall 2022)​
  • Edna Amoah undergraduate (completed project summer 2022; new project Spring 2023)
  • Tanner Addison, undergraduate (Spring 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Nick Wolfe, undergraduate,  (Spring 2023)
  • Austin Matthews, undergraduate  (Spring 2023)
  • Isaiah Brown, undergraduate (Spring 2023)
  • Rachel Vinson, undergraduate (volunteer, Spring 2023)
  • Jorden Frazier (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Nicolas Sibo undergraduate Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Graduated December, 2022)
  • Natalie Swaim (undergraduate technician Fall, 2022; Graduate May 2022)
  • Jymiah Carvin, undergraduate ( Summer 2022, graduated summer 2022)
  • Sophie Marboah, Undergraduate (Spring 2021, summer 2022, graduated May, 2022)
  • Madison Padgett (Spring 2021, graduated May 2022)
  • Nicolas Sibo undergraduate Summer 2022, Fall 2022, Graduated December, 2022)
  • Natalie Swaim (undergraduate technician Fall, 2022; Graduate May 2022)
  • Jymiah Carvin, undergraduate ( Summer 2022, graduated summer 2022)
  • Carlos Morales Sanchez undergraduate (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Hope Agresti Undergraduate (Fall 2022; Spring 2023)
  • Nya Rieves, Undergraduate,(Fall 2022)​
  • Edna Amoah undergraduate (completed project summer 2022; new project Spring 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Tanner Addison, undergraduate (Spring 2021, Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Nick Wolfe, undergraduate,  (Spring 2023)
  • Austin Matthews, undergraduate  (Spring 2023, Summer 2023))
  • Isaiah Brown, undergraduate (Spring 2023)
  • Rachel Vinson, undergraduate (volunteer, Spring 2023)
  • Jorden Frazier (Fall 2022, Spring 2023)
  • Amanda Gerrish (Summer 2023)
  • Hasnain Aswan (Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024))
  • Gabriela Cruz (Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Imanyia Thomas (Summer 2023)
  • Alexandra Nolan (Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Ke’Von Lee (Summer 2023)
  • Anthony Hines (Summer 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Rukshan Fernando (Summer 2023, Fall 2023)
  • Kevin Hidalgo (Summer 2023)
  • Kailey Sooppersaud (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Christina Soopersaud (Fall 2023)
  • Kimberly Gonzales (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Selina Ifidon (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Kate McDavid (Spring 2024)
  • Alyse Whitecar (Spring 2024)
  • Maleak Whittaker (Spring 2024)
  • Tahesha Gladden (Spring 2024)
  • Katelyn Garton (Fall 2023, Spring 2024)
  • Siram Ali (Spring 2024)
  • Severa Zaman (Spring 2024)
 
 
UNDERGRADUATE HONORS THESIS READER (OTHER THAN ADVISEES), OR HONORS CONTRACT IN CLASS:
  • Gina Zuniga (1995: recipient of Lundgren Award for most outstanding Biology student)
  • Stephanie Moses (1994; co-recipient of Lundgren Award; recipient of SU Scholar)
  • Mayer Aldreb (2022- BIO 330 Evolution)
  • Naomi Kramer (2022- BIO 330 Evolution)
  • Colt Morgan-Russell (2022 BIO 431)
  • Mason Ibrahim (2022 BIO 431)
  • Makenzie Cansler (2023-BIO 330)
  • Eric Whisnant (2023 BIO 330)
  • Carson Spillman (2023 BIO 301)
  • Jessica Jacobs (2023 BIO 301)
 
POSTDOCTORAL ASSOCIATES IN MY LABORATORY:
  • Scott Heckathorn, Ph.D. Univ. of Illinois, 1994; (1994-1997)- Professor of Ecology, University of Toledo
  • Steve Boese, Ph.D. University of Western Ontario, 1991. (1995-1996)- Professor of Biology, Chair Division of Math and Sciences, Ottawa University
  • Daniel “Max” Taub, Ph.D. SUNY-Stony Brook 1997 (1998–2000)- Professor of Biology, Southwestern University
  • Diane Pataki, Ph.D., Duke University, 1998, (1998–1999)- Foundation Professor and Director of the School of Sustainability, Arizona State
  • Elke Naumberg, Ph.D., Duke University, 2000. (shared with Stan Smith, UNLV; April 2000 – June 2002)
  • Yener Ulus, Ph.D., University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 2022. Visiting Assistant Professor at Davidson College
  • Kristina Morales,  Ph.D. 2022 University of North Carolina-Greensboro, 2022-2023 (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality)
 
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE:
  • National Science Foundation Panel (Dec 2023-Jan 2024)
  • National Science Foundation Panel (June 2023)
  • National Science Foundation Panel, (Dec 2022-Jan 2023)
  • Mental Health First Aid for Adults, May, 2022
  • Board Member- Gateway Research Park 2020
  • Member, Jewish Community Relations Committee, Greensboro Jewish Federation 2020-
  • Board Member; Arkansas Research and Technology Development Foundation; 2017-2020
  • Board Member, Maymont Foundation (http://www.maymont.org/) 2013-2015
  • Panel of visitors for five year review- Desert Research Institute, 2019
  • AAAS Review, State of Maine EPSCoR Program, April 2013
  • Chair, External Advisory Board member to Nevada’s NSF EPSCoR Research Infrastructure Improvement Grant, 2008-2013.
  • Chair, State of Arkansas NSF EPSCoR External Advisory Committee, September 2007- September 2014
  • AAAS reviewer, State of Kentucky EPSCoR program. 2012 Board of Advisors, Ocean Energy Institute, February, 2010 –2011
  • Member, External Review Committee of the Biology Department, Georgetown University, May, 2010
  • Reviewer for Notre Dame University’s internal research program. Fall, 2009
  • Member, Committee of Visitors for National Science Foundation EPSCoR program, August, 2009
  • Chair, Technology Development Subcommittee, Energy Collaborative, Greater Houston Partnership. January 2009 – December 2009
  • AAAS reviewer for Nebraska NSF EPSCoR project selection. 2009
  • Board member, Houston Advanced Research Center (HARC) 2008-2011
  • Board member, Alliance for Nanohealth, 2008-2011
  • Board member, Gulf Coast Consortium, 2008-2011
  • Commissioner, University of Rhode Island Commission for Research and Innovation, September, 2007- 2008 (member of statewide implementation team September 2008- 2011)
  • Board member, National Space Biomedical Research Institute, September, 2007 – 2011
  • Board member, SURA (Southern Universities Research Alliance), September, 2007-2011
  • Member, Economic Development committee, Greater Houston Parthernship, January 2008 –2011.
  • National Science Foundation reverse site visitor, NSF EPSCoR, October, 2006
  • Invited workshop participant (1 of 25) NSF EPSCoR 2020 Workshop: Defining a Strategic Plan for the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, June, 2006.
  • AAAS Panel to review Kansas EPSCoR programs, May, 2006 and October, 2006 Reviewer for Vermont EPSCoR program’s submission of RII proposal, Fall, 2006
  • Reviewer for South Carolina EPSCoR RII preproposals, November, 2006
  • Reviewer for Rhode Island EPSCoR program. September, 2005
  • AAAS Panel to review Kansas EPSCoR programs. May, 2005; November, 2006
  • Invitee – NSF Workshop on the future of Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology Education. April, 2005
  • Program Committee member, AAU Senior Research Officers, 2005 - present Panel Member, EPSCOR RII Panel, September 2004
  • Board Member, Missouri Innovation Center, May 2003 – September, 2007 Panel Member, NSF Frontiers in Biological Research, December, 2002
  • Elected Board Member, Association of Ecosystem Research Centers, 2002-2007 Chairman, Nevada Inventor of the Year Selection Committee, 2001
  • Chairman, Rudolf Gunnerman Silver State Technology Award Selection Committee, 2000, 2001,2002
  • Member of UCCSN Computer Vision Program Advisory Board 2000-2003
  • Elected Board Member of the Coalition of EPSCoR States– October 2000 – 2003
  • Board Member, International Arid Lands Consortium Board of Directors, July, 2000 – May, 2001
  • Board Member, Nevada Technology Council, 1998 - 2003
  • Nevada State EPSCoR Committee – 1998 - 2003
  • Co-lead organizer (Martin Feder played major role) in SICB symposium on linking plant and animal approaches to ecological and evolutionary physiology
  • Lead organizer for ESA symposium: Plant Physiological Ecology: Linking the Organism to Scales Above and Below- August 2000
  • NSF Biocomplexity Panel – June, 2000
  • National Science Foundation Working Group for NEON. January, 2000 DOE Review of Biosphere II - 2000
  • AAAS review committee for University of Idaho Biology Department, May, 1999
  • Organized workshop on Evolutionary Responses to Global Change for NSF-EPSCoR and DOE- TCP held in Reno, NV, 5/23/99 – 5/26/99
  • President of the Physiological Ecology Section of the Ecological Society of America (1/99- 1/01)
  • Member of the Governing Advisory Board of the Ecological Society of America (1/99 –1/01)
  • Editorial Board for journals Ecology and Ecological Monographs. (10/96 –10/99)
  • Editorial Board for International Journal of Plant Sciences (11/97- 6/08)
  • Member of Honorary Membership Committee, Ecological Society of America (1998-2001)
  • Member of the Membership Committee of the Ecological Society of America (1990-1994);
  • Program Officer, NSF Panel of Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology (1995-1996)
  • Panel Member NSF CRUI Preproposals (1996)
  • Panel Member NSF Science and Technology Center Preproposals (1998)
  • Panel Member NSF IGERT Preproposal competition (1999)
  • Panel member for USDA, National Research Initiative, Competitive Grants Program, 1994 Entomology/Nematology Panel
  • Panel member for NSF, Ecological and Evolutionary Physiology, 1995, 1997, 1998
 
Reviewer for the following journals:
  • Oecologia
  • Oikos
  • Ecology
  • Forest Science
  • Canadian Journal of Forest Research New Zealand Journal of Botany Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Garden Entomolgia applicata et experimentalis
  • Environnemental Entomology
  • Plant, Cell and Environment Functional Ecology Ecological Applications American Journal of Botany
  • Global Change Biology Journal of Ecology
  • International Journal of Plant Sciences Annals of Botany
  • New Phytologist
  • Frontiers in Plant Science
  • National Science Foundation (ecology, ecosystem, population biology, and ecological and evolutionary physiology panels) grant reviews
  • National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada, reviewer
  • United States Department of Agriculture Competitive Grants Program, grant reviews Mid-Western Regional Center for Global Change, Grant Reviewer
  • Chile FONDAP competition, 1999
  • AAAS Research Competitiveness Program, 1999
  • Tenure and promotion reviewer for several universities
  • Reviewer for inside grants of the City College of New York
  • Reviewer for the National Research Council
  • Reviewer for Wellcome Trust proposals
  • Participation in Project Advance and Frontiers of Science
  • Participation in New York State Summer Program for Science and Mathematics (1994, 1995)
 
Recent University Service (2021-present)
  • Member, Executive Committee, Department of Biology (Summer 2022- present)
  • Department Member of the UNCG sustainability advisory committee 2022-
  • Graduate Program Director, Department of Biology Graduate Studies Committee. 2022- present
  • Chair, Promotion Review of Sally Koerner, 2022
  • Member, UNCG General Education Council, 2022-
  • Chair, promotion review of Gideon Wasserberg, 2022
  • Department of Biology Annual Review Committee-2022 (alternate- I reviewed the members of the committee and one faculty member that had a conflict with a member of the committee)
  • Department of Biology Graduate Studies Committee- 2021-2022
  • Department of Biology Promotion and Tenure Committee- 2021- present
  • Department of Biology Greenhouse Committee- 2021-present
  • Department of Biology, Research Strategic Planning Committee, 2021-present
  • University of North Carolina Greensboro, O. Max Gardner Award &James Holshouser Award for Public Service. 2021-2022
  • Department of Biology, Faculty Search Committee for Pollination Biologist, 2021

  • My current research focus is on the biogeochemical cycling of mercury in response to different silvicultural practices aimed at restoring longleaf pine ecosystems. With undergraduate students, we are also examining how longleaf pine seedlings respond to various environmental stresses and what that means for restoring longleaf pine stands.  This team includes Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui, Alex Chow, Carl Tretting, Yener Ulus and me. Earlier in my career, I was part of a team that used the mass balance capability of the EcoCELLs to trace the flux of mercury demonstrating that most mercury enters the ecosystem through leaf fall and on direct atmospheric deposition to soils (with Mae Gustin and Steve Lindbergh).  You can see a narrated powerpoint of our May 2022 presentation "How does mercury methylation respond to intensive forest management and the creation of anoxia in floodplain soils?"  here:  https://uncg.box.com/s/m3j1mwdnd49xy0iykx5whruvf9o04eml
 
  • How leaf and plant development affect leaf biochemistry and susceptibility to insects and pathogens.  Using eastern cottonwood as a model system, we (Clive Jones, Bill Smith (Yale) and I) integrated the tremendous work of Phil Larson, Richard Dickson and Jud Isebrands who detailed the synchrony of form and function in eastern cottonwood seedlings, cuttings and trees, including mapping the vasculature system and clearly showing the physiological, biochemical and anatomical changes that occur as a leaf moves through it sink to source transition and then ages.  We used this basic understanding to demonstrate the ability of leaf beetles, caterpillars and aphids to track leaf development age, and we demonstrated how the strength of vascular connections between different leaves strongly influenced whether an undamaged leaf would induce defensive chemicals when another leaf was damaged.  We used  the knowledge of form and function relationships to examine whether environmental stress (using ozone as a model stress), changes plant chemistry and leaf development in such a way that it would change the susceptibility of plants to four different "pests" that feed in different ways and thus change the dynamics of the of insect and fungal pathogen community. We studied a leaf beetle that eats leaf tissue; an aphid that draws phloem fluid, a rust fungus which feeds from living cells, and a leaf spot fungus that only feed after cells have been killed. These data led Clive Jones and I to create what we called a "phytocentric perspective" of plant responses herbivores. I am currently revising a draft paper that describes a link between leaf development with patterns and phenology of leaf production in trees  (indeterminate vs. determinate) to life history and ecological traits of herbivores and pathogens in their community,  such as the likelihood of having insects with multiple generations/yr or those that experience boom or bust outbreaks. A paper that I wrote with an undergraduate at the time (A. Soren Leonard) demonstrated that there can be as much as 10-fold differences in the amount of leaf area missing from herbivory vs. the amount of leaf tissue eaten by herbivores.  Leaves develop by cells expanding, not the addition of new cells. So, if tissue from developing leaves is removed, the size of the hole will grow exponentially as the cells around the hole expand.  This does not occur in older, fully developed leaves.  To me, this was a very important finding about how leaf development process affect interpretations of missing leaf area. But, the plant-herbivore, net ecosystem productivity community has not found it very interesting.
​
  • How plants allocate carbon and nutrients to roots, shoots, storage and reproduction in response to environmental stress, We (Kelly McConnaughay and I)  examined the importance of plant development and size dependency in interpreting whether adjustments in resource allocation (e.g., root:shoot ratio; N concentration in tissues) in plants to stressful environments follows the hypotheses of optimal partitioning, ontogenetic drift, or both. We tested whether data that supported optimal partitioning resulted from comparing traits of plants at a common age as opposed to at a common size.  Plants often develop as a function of their size, and not necessarily their age. Therefore, if one compares plant traits at a common time of a control vs. a stressed plant, then one will be measuring plants of different sizes because the control plant is likely to be bigger than the stressed plant. In such cases, any differences demonstrated in plant traits for plants of different sizes could be due to ontogenetic drift (the allometric relationships between different plant parts as a plant gets bigger), and not necessarily due to adaptive strategies of plants in response to stress.
​
  • The role of low molecular weight heat shock proteins in protecting plants from heat stress and their evolutionary ecology. We (Scott Heckathorn, Craig Downs, and Tom Sharkey) were the first laboratory to demonstrate that low molecular weight chloroplast heat shock proteins protect photosystem II from heat stress. We started this work by examining the physiological cost to plants of making heat shock proteins, and whether that cost helps shape the pattern and amount of heat shock proteins produced by a single species within populations that are more or less adapted to experience acute heat stress. We also examined whether such differences correlated with the environment in which different species evolved.  We also demonstrated that there is resource cost (particularly N) to making low and high molecular weight heat shock proteins.
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  • How plants and ecosystems respond to rising carbon dioxide levels along with changing precipitation and deposition of nutrients and pollutants associated with climate change.  The Desert FACE (Free-air CO2 enrichment) site,  taught us (the main PIs were me, Stan Smith, Jeff Seemann, Bob Nowak, Jay Arnone, Yiqi Luo, Wexin Cheng, Paul Verburg, Dani Obrist, Tim Ball,  Dave Evans and Dale Johnson) a great deal about how elevated carbon dioxide affects photosynthesis,  ecosystem productivity, carbon cycling and carbon storage, invasive species, soil water and water use efficiency, and the role of the microbial crust that covers the desert floor. Laboratory experiments taught us a lot about closing the carbon cycle, the response of net ecosystem productivity over several years in response to one unusually warmer year, and the full carbon, nutrient and water fluxes and storage of ecosystems in response to elevated carbon dioxide using a nationally unique large mass balance mesocosm facility (EcoCELLs)  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_nYbGfU20c). The EcoCell work on the lagged response of soil respiration to an anomalously warm year was on the cover of Nature in 2008.

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