Dr.+Teri+Balser+-+Bio+and+photo+for+publicity


 * Photos for print or web (low resolution)**


 * DR. TERESA BALSER **
 * Curtin University **


 * Teri C. Balser** is formerly an associate professor of soil and ecosystem ecology in the Department of Soil Science and the Director of the Institute for Cross-College Biology Education and a faculty associate in human resource development at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She joined the University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Soil Science as an Assistant Professor of Soil and Ecosystem Ecology in 2001. Following tenure and promotion to Associate Professor she was appointed as Director of the Institute for Biology Education at UW-Madison. From Madison she accepted a position as the first female dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences in the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences at the University of Florida. In January of 2014 Dr. Balser resigned from her position as dean in order to better support the transformation of undergraduate education at the University. She will spend the spring term developing a plan and proposal for a new position at the campus level focused on education and teaching support.

In her work as a soil science researcher, Dr. Balser focuses on the role of soil and soil community response to anthropogenic disturbances in either exacerbating or mitigating current global-scale ecological changes. She works collaboratively around the world in urban, forested, and grassland and boreal ecosystems. Projects in the Balser lab have included quantifying the impact of invasive plant species and elevated CO2 on natural methane fluxes from soil, patterns of microbial community development in restored prairie soils and rain gardens, as well as understanding patterns and consequences of community shifts following long-term chronic multiple global change manipulations. She received a U.S. National Science Foundation Early Career award for interdisciplinary collaboration and work on carbon fluxes due to physiological stress under climate warming. In November of 2014 she was named as a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of America. Fewer than 1% of the membership receives this honor.

Dr. Balser also has a strong teaching/education record with incorporation of active learning, innovative curriculum design, and teaching-as-research to advance educational goals. Dr. Balser received numerous awards for her teaching accomplishments including recognition as a UW System Madison Teaching Fellow; selection to be a National Biology Scholar; and being chosen as the recipient of two major national teaching awards: the USDA National Excellence in College and University Teaching Award (in 2009), and the Outstanding Doctoral and Research Universities U.S. Professor of the Year Award for 2010, from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement of Education (CASE). She is a Co-founder of the Society for Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER). She has published more than 60 peer reviewed journal articles, several book chapters, and has contributed substantially to several textbooks. She is a sought after speaker on the topic of education reform and the future of the land grant university. She is currently applying her experience in teaching and learning in working to enhance undergraduate and graduate academic programs at the University of Florida.

Finally, Dr. Balser is involved in leadership development and bridging research and policy and public understanding. She has held an honorary appointment in the University of Wisconsin Office of Human Resource Development, and is the American Society for Agronomy Leadership Development Coordinator. She develops and leads discussions and workshops on ‘Leadership Exploration’ that involve community members as well as staff and students from the university, as well as routinely offering leadership and professional development workshops nationally. She uses her skills as a facilitator to provide science outreach for farmers and citizens across Wisconsin and Florida.

Dr. Balser earned her Ph.D. in soil microbiology from the University of California at Berkeley (2000), followed by postdoctoral research in ecosystem ecology at Stanford University. She holds dual A.B. degrees in Earth Sciences and Biology from Dartmouth College (1992). In 2011, Dr. Balser accepted the position of Dean, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Professor in Soil and Water Science at the University of Florida. In 2015 she moved into the role of Dean of Teaching and Learning for the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.