A major contributor to the optimal foraging theory, Ronald Pulliam has been a faculty member in the Institute of Ecology since 1984. Photo by Paul Efland.
A major contributor to the optimal foraging theory, Ronald Pulliam has been a faculty member in the Institute of Ecology since 1984. Photo by Paul Efland.
By Phil Williams
Ronald Pulliam, a national expert on biodiversity and community ecology, has been named Regents Professor.
The appointment, approved at the March meeting of the board of regents, recognizes out-standing scholarship and long-term accomplishments.
Pulliam, a faculty member in the Institute of Ecology since 1984, has made important contributions to understanding foraging, social behavior and the evolution of culture. He was a major contributor to the optimal foraging theory, which predicts animal feeding behavior, and his book Programmed to Learn has been called pioneering.
"Ron Pulliam's international reputation as a scholar and scientist speaks for itself," says President Michael F. Adams. "I am delighted that Ron will now be a Regents Professor as well."
Pulliam was director of the Institute of Ecology from 1987 to 1994, expanding graduate and undergraduate training programs. In 1994, he took a three-year leave of absence to become the first director of the National Biological Service. Pulliam's efforts led to a fundamental reorganization of science programs at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Pulliam received his bachelor's degree in zoology from UGA with honors in 1968, and his doctoral degree from Duke in 1970. After a postdoctoral fellowship in population genetics at the University of Chicago in 1971, he became an assistant professor in biological sciences at the University of Arizona.
After appointments at the Museum of Northern Arizona and SUNYAlbany, Pulliam returned to UGA in 1984.
He has served as president of the Ecological Society of America, as a trustee of the Georgia Conservancy, and as vice president for global-change studies for the Southeastern Universities Research Association. Gov. Zell Miller appointed him to the Georgia Forest Lands Commission and the Georgia Environmental Education Council.
Pulliam has been an active teacher at UGA, at both the undergraduate and graduate level.
"Ron Pulliam is more than a first-rate scientist," said Wyatt Anderson, dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "He is also a thinker of the first order."
Regents professorships are granted for three years and may be renewed for another three years. Only one UGA candidate may be nominated annually. Recipients are awarded a $10,000 salary increase and a yearly $5,000 fund for scholarship purposes.
