Welcome to Lake Superior State University!
Dr. Rodney S. Hanley
President
Dr. Rod Hanley is the 10th President of Lake Superior State University. He started in that position in June 2018. Prior to coming to LSSU, Dr. Hanley was Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee; Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada; Dean of Science at the University of Winnipeg; and a faculty member and chair of the Department of Earth System Science and Policy at the University of North Dakota.
Dr. Hanley’s career in academia spans more than 30 years, including experience as a professor, department chair, dean, and provost. He earned degrees from the University of Kansas (Ph.D., Biology), the University of Cambridge (M.St., Sustainability Leadership), and Eastern Illinois University (M.S. and B.S., Environmental Biology). Dr. Hanley’s teaching experience includes courses both at the undergraduate and graduate levels, including various entomology courses, environmental science, biology, environmental communication, and biogeography. Dr. Hanley has more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and professional presentations, and he has obtained more than $120 million in research grants, fundraising awards and donations.
Dr. Hanley has extensive research and administrative experience in a wide variety of areas, including ecology, evolutionary biology, sustainability, social justice, and diversity within higher education. Some of Dr. Hanley’s projects include the operation of a NASA research jet that flew around the globe collecting measurements associated with ozone depletion, climate change, and extreme weather patterns; the engineering and installation of a custom built camera onto the International Space Station that provides near-to-real-time images to growers to aid in precision farming practices; the planning and development of the massive Richardson College for the Environment and Science Complex for the University of Winnipeg; and the development of first new law school in Ontario in over 43 years at Lakehead University.
Dr. Hanley is from Decatur, Illinois and is a military veteran having served in the Persian Gulf War as part of the U.S. Army and the Illinois Army National Guard. He is also an Eagle Scout and is married to his spouse, Sara from Moorhead, Minnesota, and they have two sons: Harry, who was born in Ethiopia, and Edward, who was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
