URBANA, Ill - Robert Schooley will serve as the next head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences (NRES) in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A full professor, Schooley has served as the NRES interim head since January 2020. He joined NRES as an assistant professor in fall 2005.

As a researcher, Schooley is an accomplished scholar in wildlife ecology with over 70 peer-reviewed journal articles and two book chapters in the area. He has been the PI or Co-PI for over 19 research studies, garnering $16 million in funding from university, state, and federal funding agencies. He has trained nearly 20 graduate students and taught many undergraduate and graduate courses during his tenure in NRES.

“We congratulate Dr. Schooley on his appointment to this critical leadership role for NRES, as well as an official member of the ACES leadership team. We are very fortunate to have his experience, passion, and determination for creating excellence in NRES and ACES,” says ACES Dean Kim Kidwell.

Pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Schooley will begin serving in the role of head of NRES on July 1, 2021.