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About Robert
Dr. Robert Fischer is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Professor of Biology at Western Kentucky University. He holds a Ph.D. in Evolutionary Biology from the University of South Carolina (1994), an M.A. in Environmental Biology from State University College at Buffalo (1984), a B.S. in Ecology from State University College of Environmental Science and Forestry at Syracuse (1982), and an A.S. in Biology from Herkimer County Community College (1980). Prior to his appointment at WKU in July 2021, Dr. Fischer served as Dean and Professor in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University from 2012, managing a $32 million budget, 200 faculty members across 11 departments, 5,000 students, and overseeing the development of Ph.D. programs, a new $147 million science building, and initiatives in experiential learning and diversity. Previously, he was Chair and Professor of the Department of Biology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (2008–2012), where he increased undergraduate enrollment by 11%, retention to 74%, and external funding by 24%, while launching new programs such as Phage Genomics and Biomedical Sciences. Earlier, he held positions as Associate Chair and Professor of Biological Sciences at Eastern Illinois University (1998–2003), contributing to program development, facilities renovation, and faculty evaluation.
Dr. Fischer's research focuses on evolutionary biology, physiological ecology, fisheries biology, and aquatic biology, particularly the impacts of environmental stressors on aquatic organisms. His work examines morphological, physiological, behavioral, and life-history changes in bluegill sunfish under thermal stress, parental investment theory in ectotherms like alligators and snakes, land-use effects on stream ecosystems, and habitat fragmentation on fish genetic diversity. Notable publications include 'Predator induced changes in preferred temperatures of bluegill, Lepomis macrochirus, from a thermally altered ecosystem' (Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 1987), 'Developmental energetics and parental investment in the American alligator Alligator mississippiensis' (Journal of Herpetology, 1991), 'Mass dynamics during embryonic development and parental investment in cottonmouth snakes' (Journal of Herpetology, 1994), 'Reproduction and whole body lipid cycles of bluegill fish from heated and normothermic habitats' (Thermal Biology, 1998), and 'The effects of 30 years of thermal extremes on bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) morphology' (Ecology of Freshwater Fishes, 2006). He has received awards such as the Eastern Illinois University Faculty Laureate (2000–2001), multiple Faculty Excellence Awards for Research, Teaching, and Service, Dean of Graduate Schools Excellence in Mentorship Award (2011), and several Best Professional Paper awards from the Illinois Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
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