Rate My Professor Allan Strong

Allan Strong is a Professor in the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Vermont, where he serves as Director of the Wildlife and Fisheries Biology program. He earned a B.S. cum laude in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from the University of Vermont in 1983, an M.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1986, and a Ph.D. in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Tulane University in 1999. Strong's academic career at the University of Vermont began as a Visiting Assistant Professor in 1999, followed by promotions to Assistant Professor (2003–2009), Associate Professor (2009–2018), and Professor in 2018. He held key administrative roles including Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Faculty Development from 2011 to 2019 and Interim Dean of the Rubenstein School from 2022 to 2024. During these tenures, he led equity assessments, revised diversity, equity, and inclusion curricula, and developed the school's Inclusive Excellence Action Plan. Earlier positions include Research Biologist at the National Audubon Society (1988–1993).

Strong's research centers on avian ecology, conservation biology, and landscape ecology, investigating how anthropogenic habitat changes—such as those from ski resorts, urbanization, and agriculture—affect bird populations. His work emphasizes bird-friendly management for grassland birds in the Champlain Valley, Neotropical migrant ecology, seed dispersal by birds, high-elevation species, and trophic interactions. He chairs Vermont's Endangered Species Committee and is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society. Key publications include 'Habitat-specific effects of food abundance on the condition of Ovenbirds wintering in Jamaica' (Journal of Animal Ecology, 2000), 'Grassland songbirds in a dynamic management landscape: behavioral responses and management strategies' (Ecological Applications, 2006), and 'Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)' (2015). Strong has received the 2025 University of Vermont George V. Kidder Outstanding Faculty Award, the 2014 American Ornithological Society Fellowship, multiple teaching accolades, and has secured grants exceeding $2 million for projects on ecosystem services, forest ecology, and multicultural education.