Office of Undergraduate Studies

Office of Undergraduate Studies Staff Information
2130 Mitchell Building, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
phone: 301-405-9363     fax: 301-314-9896

James M. Dietz
Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies
Professor of Biology

Jim Dietz is Interim Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies and Professor of Biology at the University of Maryland. Dietz holds a bachelor's degree in Zoology from DePauw University, a master's degree in Wildlife Biology from Purdue University, and a PhD in Zoology from Michigan State University. He did his postdoctoral work at the Conservation Research Center of the Smithsonian Institution.

Brazil is the geographic focus of Jim's research and conservation activities and he is fluent in Brazilian language and culture. For the past 25 years, Dietz has studied the behavior and ecology of endangered golden lion tamarin monkeys in Rio de Janeiro state. His research on the evolution of monogamy and helping behavior in this communally breeding primate forms an integral part of an international project targeting the conservation of this species and the biodiversity in its fragmented forest landscape. Other components of the program include captive breeding, genetic management of the wild population through reintroduction of captive-born tamarins, habitat restoration and community education and development. Jim is co-director of an unprecedented plan to plant forest corridors reuniting isolated forests containing too-small populations of tamarins. If successful, this management plan will result in removal of the golden lion tamarin from the endangered species list.

In 1988, Dietz was hired by the University of Maryland to help develop the Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology MSc. graduate program (CONS; www.umd.edu/cons). Using his experience in international conservation issues, Dietz and colleagues from UM and local conservation organizations, government agencies and development banks crafted a multidisciplinary curriculum that is recognized as one of the top programs in the country. Many of the 300 CONS graduates now work in conservation organizations and government agencies throughout the Metro area. Dietz also developed and taught an undergraduate course in conservation biology and the CONS capstone course, Problem Solving in Conservation, in which senior CONS students act as a pro bono consulting group to professionals in dozens of local state, federal and nongovernmental organizations.

Dr. Dietz' accomplishments in conservation, teaching and research have been recognized in many ways. He is an elected member of the International Committee for the Conservation and Management of Lion Tamarins (convened by the Brazilian government), elected member of the Board of Directors of the Associação Mico Leão Dourado, recipient of the UM Instructional Unit Minority Achievement Award, and the UM Distinguished International Service Award. He was awarded the Faculty Excellence Award for Teaching and Curriculum Development by the College of Chemical and Life Sciences, and a President's Certificate of Service for his contributions as Chair of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee.

Contact Information: Email: jmdietz@umd.edu
Office of Undergraduate Studies
2130 Mitchell Building, University of Maryland College Park, MD 20742
301-314-8282