Leadership

Leadership

Strengthening our mission and values through dedicated leadership.

Leading through experience. Innovating through empowerment. 

The leadership in the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences are also experts in their own fields and are committed to shepherding our legacy and cultivating our continued success.

Vice President & Charles-Sander Dean Shane C. Burgess

A native of New Zealand, Dr. Burgess has worked around the world as a practicing veterinarian and scientist. His areas of research expertise include cancer biology, virology, proteomics, immunology, bioinformatics and computational biology.

Dr. Burgess is Vice President of the University of Arizona Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension and the Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences. In FY22, this $320M/year enterprise taught 10,700 students and almost 5,000 K-12 students in all 15 counties, had more than 1,250 employees and almost 1,000 DPS background-checked volunteers. U of A has been ranked as the top performing university in the world in water resources.

Shane Burgess Headshot

Shane C. Burgess

Vice President for the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Charles-Sander Dean of the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences
ALVSCE-VP@arizona.edu

Executive Leadership

Jon Chorover headshot

Jon Chorover

Interim Associate Vice President, Research, Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Interim Associate Dean, Research
Professor, Environmental Science
Professor, Hydrology and Water Resources
Professor, Public Health
chorover@arizona.edu
Jim Davis Headshot

Jim Davis

Associate Vice President, Advancement, Advocacy, Alumni Affairs, & Corporate Relations for the Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
Senior Director of Development for Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
jdavis@ag.arizona.edu
Jeffrey Ratje headshot

Jeffrey Ratje

Senior Associate Vice President, Finance, Administration and Operations, Division of Agriculture, Life and Veterinary Sciences, and Cooperative Extension
jmratje@arizona.edu
Zelieann Craig headshot

Zelieann R. Craig

Assistant Dean, Research
Associate Professor, Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences
Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute
Associate Professor, Physiological Sciences - GIDP
zelieann@arizona.edu
James Hunt Headshot

James Hunt

Senior Assistant Dean, Career and Academic Services
Professor of Practice, Human Development and Family Science
jeh@arizona.edu
Jia Hu Headshot

Jia Hu

Assistant Dean, Graduate Education
Associate Professor, Riparian Ecology-Ecohydrology
Associate Professor, Dendrochronology
Associate Professor, AIRES
jiahu@arizona.edu

School Directors

  • Judith Brown, Interim Director and Professor, School of Plant Sciences

  • Laura Scaramella, Director, Norton School of Human Ecology

  • D. Scott Merrell, Director and Professor, School of Animal and Comparative Biomedical Sciences

  • Kathryn Stoner, Professor and Director, School of Natural Resources and the Environment

  • Kenneth Wilund, Director and Professor, School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness

Department Heads

  • Joan Curry, Interim Department Head and Professor, Environmental Science

  • Murat Kacira, Interim Department Head and Professor, Biosystems Engineering

  • Laura Scaramella, Interim Department Head, Agricultural Education, Technology and Innovation

  • Bruce Tabashnik, Department Head and Professor, Entomology

  • Gary Thompson, Department Head and Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics