The University of Montana has announced the appointment of Mark Hebblewhite as the first Earle and Pattie Layser Endowed Distinguished Professor in Conservation Biology and Policy. The professorship was established through a $1.5 million gift from UM alumnus Earle Layser and his late wife, Pattie, to support conservation education and research at the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation.
Earle and Pattie Layser were dedicated to wildlife conservation, publishing extensively on natural history topics informed by their travels to places such as Uganda, Madagascar, the Galápagos Islands, and the Amazon. Despite their global experiences, they considered the Northern Rockies and Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem central to their lives.
“People must know before they are able to care,” said Earle Layser. “Our gift is intended to contribute to that knowing and recognizing, and ultimately the caring, for the preservation and protection of the uniqueness of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem in today’s rapidly changing world.”
Mark Hebblewhite joined UM’s Wildlife Biology Program in 2006 as a professor specializing in ungulate habitat ecology. He leads UM’s Ungulate Ecology Lab, where he studies how animals like deer and elk navigate risks from predators while seeking food. His research also examines how human activities such as road construction or deforestation affect wildlife behavior.
“This professorship helps me solidify my lifelong focus on conservation science and policy in the Northern Rockies,” Hebblewhite said. “It’s where I’ve worked, studied and poured my energy for the last 30 years – and where I believe the future of North American conservation lies.”
Hebblewhite holds a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Alberta, completed post-doctoral work at University of British Columbia-Vancouver, and earned his master’s degree in wildlife biology from UM in 1997.
Endowed faculty professorships are considered among academia’s highest honors. They help universities retain top scholars who enhance institutional reputation through their work.
Chad Bishop, director of UM’s Wildlife Biology Program, commented on Hebblewhite’s selection: “Dr. Hebblewhite’s contributions have established him as one of the premier ungulate and carnivore ecologists in the world. His research output has contributed substantively toward UM’s standing as having a top-ranked Wildlife Biology Program in North America and has influenced numerous and diverse conservation strategies and policies to benefit species and ecosystems.”
The establishment of this professorship increases Franke College’s total number of named academic positions to seven—the most among colleges at UM—and further strengthens its highly regarded Wildlife Biology Program.
The announcement comes during an ongoing fundraising campaign by UM Foundation and Franke College called “Treasure Montana: Cultivating Our Tomorrow.” The campaign seeks $20 million in private donations for a new facility that will consolidate programs currently spread across campus into one central location for Franke College.
Earle Layser graduated from UM with a bachelor’s degree in forestry before earning a master’s degree from State University of New York’s college of forestry; Pattie Layser held degrees from Rhodes College.
“We were compelled to give back in a meaningful way for all we had enjoyed and experienced in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem,” Layser said, “to an area that contributed so much to our quality of life and that of so many others.”
