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Shawn J. Riley
Associate Professor

Fisheries & Wildlife
13 Natural Resources Bldg
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
 
rileysh2@msu.edu

Dr. Riley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, and a scientist in the Partnership for Ecosystem Research and Management (PERM). He also serves as a faculty member in the Environmental Science and Policy Program at MSU.

In the Land Grant tradition, Dr. Riley has a three-way appointment in research, teaching, and outreach.

Research: Dr. Riley's research activities are in discovery and integration of human and environmental dimensions of wildlife management.  His current research projects focus on human dimensions of wildlife health; human-wildlife interactions and how stakeholders perceive those interactions as impacts; how individuals and communities develop capacity for living with wildlife; and application of systems thinking to natural resource policy. 

Teaching: Shawn's classroom teaching responsibilities include Human Dimensions of Fisheries and Wildlife Management (FW434).  He previously taught undergraduate courses in Principles of Fish and Wildlife management; Concepts in Wildlife Ecology; Wildlife Management; and graduate courses in Leadership; Applications of Management Science to Fish and Wildlife Management; and, Coping With Uncertainty in Wildlife Management. 

Outreach: Shawn's outreach efforts focus on improving capacity of resource agencies to make effective decisions; professional development for agency personnel; program evaluation; and diffusion of techniques to integrate human and environmental dimensions of management.  He regularly conducts workshops across the country directed at improving wildlife management through group model building and structured decision making.

Background:

Dr. Riley came to Michigan State University in 2001 from Cornell University, where he was a research associate in the Human Dimensions Research Unit and a lecturer in the Department of Natural Resources.  Shawn earned B.S. (1980) and M.S. (1982) degrees in fish and wildlife management from Montana State University, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University (1998) in wildlife science, with minors in resource economics, and natural resources policy. In the 12 years between his studies at Montana State and Cornell, Shawn served as a research biologist, wildlife management biologist, and statewide program biologist for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. He is a Certified Wildlife Biologist and active participant in The Wildlife Society.

University service currently includes the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources' Graduate Committee (elected), College of Agriculture and Natural Resources' Teaching Excellence Committee (appointed), and Chair of Fisheries and Wildlife's Department Advisory Committee (elected).

Click on a tabs below or on the menu bar to the upper left to view Dr. Riley's research, teaching, and outreach activities, as well as lists of publications, presentations, and reports.