Jim Ansley

Oklahoma State University

Dr. Ansley is currently Head of the Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management (NREM) at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA. Prior to that he held a 100% research appointment as a Regents Fellow Professor of Rangeland Ecology with Texas A&M AgriLife Research at the Research and Extension center in Vernon, Texas. His home department at Texas A&M University was Ecosystem Science and Management. He also served as an Adjunct Instructor at Vernon College in Vernon from 2011-2015, and taught the Introduction to Biology 1 and 2 in fall and spring semesters, respectively. Dr. Ansley was raised and graduated high school in Westminster, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. He received his B.A. in Biology from Hastings College, Nebraska, his M.S. in Range Science from Utah State University in Logan, Utah, and his PhD in Agronomy from the University of Wyoming in Laramie, Wyoming.

Dr. Ansley’s administrative activities at Oklahoma State University include providing leadership and management direction for a department of 22 faculty, 5 administrative support staff, 2 research technicians, ~5 post-doctoral associates, ~60 graduate students and ~240 undergraduate students. He occasionally guest lectures in NREM courses and gives presentations to various audiences to promote the department and recruit students. He also manages the OSU collaboration with the USGS Oklahoma Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit (3 scientists; 3 admin support) and the South-Central Climate Adaptation Science Center administered by the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma.

His research interests are focused on rangeland vegetation ecology and woody plant encroachment on Southern Great Plains (SGP) grasslands and rangelands. His research has been a blend of basic and applied ecology research. Specific goals are to (1) quantify processes associated with woody plant expansion on SGP rangelands, (2) develop sustainable management options for mitigating the negative effects of woody plant invasions, including use of prescribed fire and herbicide treatments, and (3) determine the potential of rangeland woody plants for bioenergy uses. He has published >100 refereed journal articles, >300 other publications, and has been cited >5000 times.