Quentin Wheeler, new VP and dean
of Liberal Arts & Sciences,
to lead ‘cyber’ species exploration institute

Cheap microscope plays role in entomologist’s 1st discovery

As far back as he can remember, Quentin Wheeler, the recently appointed ASU vice president and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, has been on a quest to discover unknown species. A life-altering moment, he recalls, may have been at age 8, when, trying out his friend’s new birthday gift — a cheap department-store microscope — he brought into focus protozoa “swimming” in a drop of water.

It wasn’t long before Wheeler began collecting small samples of water and then gallons of pure cultures, which he stored in a basement laboratory at home. In high school, he progressed to bacteriology and was “gung-ho to study microbiology” in college when he took an entomology class and realized he had always been a taxonomist, someone who enjoyed discovering and classifying species.

Fast forward to the present, where there are roughly 1.7 million named species, representing at most 20 percent of living species on Earth, according to Wheeler. To accelerate human knowledge and understanding of the planet’s living diversity, Wheeler will establish the International Institute for Species Exploration at ASU, which will lead in the creation of “cybertaxonomy,” a fusion of taxonomy with computer science and engineering. The institute will be housed in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with strong linkages to the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.

A new breed of dean

Wheeler joined ASU in July as a professor in the School of Life Sciences with the task of establishing the new research institute. Soon after, he was asked to serve as the interim dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. In late December, he was appointed ASU vice president and dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, succeeding David A. Young, who moved into the newly created position of ASU senior vice president for academic affairs.

Wheeler, often seen wearing his signature black cowboy boots, is well-prepared for the challenges before him. He holds undergraduate and advanced degrees in the field of entomology from Ohio State University and most recently served two years as the keeper and head of the Department of Entomology at The Natural History Museum in London, overseeing a staff of 130 and an estimated 28 million prepared specimens representing more than half of all insect species known on earth. Prior to that, the Ohio native held faculty and administrative positions with Cornell University for 24 years, where he was a professor in entomology and plant biology. He also is a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. And, from 2001 to 2003, he served as director of the National Science Foundation’s Division of Environmental Biology.

In his new dual role as founding director of the International Institute for Species Exploration, and ASU vice president and dean of the university’s largest and most diverse college, Wheeler joins a new breed of deans at ASU — active researcher and visionary leader.

“Quentin Wheeler has a passion for discovery and a 21st century sense of species classification,” says ASU President Michael M. Crow. “That potent mixture of knowledge and curiosity to discover the relationships among Earth’s species reflects the transformative style going on at ASU as we build a great research university.”

In announcing Wheeler’s appointment in December, Elizabeth D. Capaldi, executive vice president and university provost, said: “Quentin’s qualifications speak for themselves. He has shown himself to be broad and appreciative of all the disciplines in the college with a genuine understanding of collaborating across the university.”

Managing day to day

As ASU vice president and college dean, Wheeler will serve as the academic leader of the college, with primary responsibility for academic affairs and strategic planning. To assist with day-to-day management of the college, Wheeler appointed Alan Artibise executive dean. Artibise will continue to also serve in his role as dean of the Division of Social Sciences until a replacement is named.

This management model mirrors one put in place last year at the Fulton School of Engineering. Paul Johnson was named executive dean of the school to support new dean Deirdre Meldrum, who in addition to her administrative role also became director of the new Center for EcoGenomics at ASU's Biodesign Institute.

Wheeler says that one of the things that attracted him to ASU is that “if you can dream it, you can pursue it here.”

He notes: “The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the university are changing rapidly. There are very few universities where you actually can transcend boundaries between disciplines to overcome constraints of the past. That’s happening here.”

In acknowledging the speed at which change is occurring at ASU, Wheeler recently told the college’s chairs and directors, “There’s strength and forward motion everywhere at ASU” and that each of them was an essential part of the college’s management team. “It’s important that we work together to get the resources you need. I’ll rely on you to be the primary point of delivery,” he says.

“I want to clearly define academic and scholarly goals and work together with chairs, directors, faculty and the executive dean to find funding resources,” he says.

“Change will come from the grassroots,” he emphasizes. One of his objectives is to foster an atmosphere of creative and visionary teaching, research and scholarship capable of transforming excellence.

Another objective will be to model a culture of service in the college. “The primary reasons we’re here are to serve students and society,” Wheeler says. Retention continues to be a challenge and is on his short list of top priorities.

He will work closely with Artibise to carry out these objectives. “It’s absolutely critical for the success of the college that Alan and I work as a team, in concert with the divisional deans and the superb staff of the dean’s office.”

Those divisional deans include Deborah Losse, dean of the Division of Humanities; Dan Bivona, dean of the Division of Undergraduate Programs; and Sid P. Bacon, professor and chair of the Department of Speech & Hearing Science, who recently assumed the role of interim dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.

“Beetlemania”

With the new management structure in place, Wheeler will spend more time on beetle morphology and classification, the role of taxonomy in biodiversity exploration and conservation, and the establishment of the International Institute for Species Exploration.

Wheeler says he draws his energy and inspiration from science research. “The unparalleled intellectual challenges of systematic biology — exploring the complexity and diversity of the many life forms of our planet and reconstructing their evolutionary history — recharge my mental batteries.”

He also speaks passionately about how our ability to understand the origin, diversification and distribution of life on our planet is dependent upon a much better knowledge of its species. “Unless we learn the eight or more million species unknown to us, how can we possibly succeed in our noble aspirations for sustainable ecosystems, deep understanding of evolution, or a responsible relationship between humans and the natural world?”

What does biodiversity look like today? “While we tend to think of large organisms — trees and vertebrate animals — we actually live on a planet dominated by animals with six or more legs, or, no legs at all.” Discovering and describing the full diversity of life on Earth is the focus of the new institute.

Wheeler already has a track record in species discovery. He and Kelly Miller, a professor at the University of New Mexico, discovered 65 species of slime-mold beetles in the genus Agathidium. In 2005, the pair named some of the beetles for their wives, and for President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (resulting in an appreciative phone call from the Oval Office).

They also named one of the beetles after fictional “Star Wars” character Darth Vader.

“The morphology of Agathidium vaderi did remind us of him. The eyes are vestigial. They consist of just a handful of facets recessed in a slit in an absolutely smooth helmet,” Wheeler says. The research is even referenced on the official “Star Wars” Web site.

These days, Wheeler satisfies his thirst for discovery with treks into Arizona deserts, where he has found new additions for ASU’s beetle collection.

Carol Hughes, carol.hughes@asu.edu

(480) 965-6375