Samuel D. Fuhlendorf received his B.S. in Agriculture at Angelo State University, M.S. at Texas A&M University in 1992. He completed his Ph.D. at Texas A&M in 1996 with research on the long-term effects of altered fire and grazing regimes on an Oak-Juniper savanna. After a brief post-doctoral research associate position, Sam took a position at Oklahoma State University in 1997 as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2002 and Professor in 2004. He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles in international journals, such as Science, Bioscience, Ecosphere, Journal of Wildlife Management, Journal of Applied Ecology, Conservation Biology, Ecological Applications, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, and Rangeland Ecology and Management. His current research is generally focused on conservation of grassland landscapes and the wildlife that live on those lands. Specific areas focus on 1) understanding the role of disturbance-driven heterogeneity in the structure and function of grasslands, 2) integrating a landscape perspective into conservation of rangelands and wildlife, 3) fire ecology, 4) wildlife conservation, and 5) understanding how animals use landscapes. Sam currently teaches Applied Ecology and Conservation, Landscape Ecology and Ecology of Fire Dependent Ecosystems. He actively participates in The Wildlife Society, Ecological Society of America, Society for Range Management, and International Association for Landscape Ecology. Sam Fuhlendorf is currently the Regents Professor and holds the Groendyke Chair in Wildlife Conservation at Oklahoma State University. Sam has received the Outstanding Young Professional Award for the Society for Range Management in 2002, the James A. Whatley Award of Merit for Research from OSU in 2001, the Outstanding Achievement Award for Research from the Society for Range Management in 2010, the Regents Distinguished Research Award at OSU in 2012, the Oklahoma Award from the Oklahoma Section of The Wildlife Society in 2017, the Sustained Lifetime Achievement Award by the Society for Range Management in 2018 and was named Fellow by the DaVinci Institute for Creativity in 2013. Most important is that he received the W.R. Chapline Research Award from SRM in 2023 and the Eminent Faculty for Oklahoma State University in 2025. Sam enjoys traveling with his partner Kim and spending time with his daughter (Catie) and grandchildren (Laney, Kai and Jaden).