Dave Wilsey, a longtime academic leader at the Humphrey School, has been named the School’s next associate dean for faculty. His three-year term begins on September 21.
Wilsey has been part of the Humphrey School community since 2013, when he joined the Master of Development Practice program as program coordinator and lecturer. During his 13 years at the School, he has served as director of the MDP and International Fellows programs and built relationships with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and partners across the University and around the world. Dave has played an important role in maintaining and strengthening the longstanding collaboration between the Humphrey School and the Interdisciplinary Center for the Study of Global Change (ICGC), through which the MDP program has been jointly administered.
“Dave understands this School, cares deeply about its people, and brings energy, generosity, and a genuinely collaborative approach to his work,” said Humphrey School Dean Nisha Botchwey. “He has a real ability to bring people and ideas together, and I am grateful that he is willing to bring those qualities to this next chapter of leadership.”
As associate dean for faculty, Wilsey will be a key partner to the dean and School leadership on faculty affairs, shared governance, academic policy, and faculty engagement. He will work closely with faculty and colleagues across the School to support faculty success, strengthen relationships, and advance the School’s academic priorities.
Wilsey will continue teaching in the MDP program and remain actively involved with the International Fellows Program. He will also guide a thoughtful transition in MDP leadership, ensuring that the relationships, knowledge, and momentum he has built continue to support the program and its students.
“I’m honored to take on this role and grateful for the opportunity to support my colleagues and the community that has supported me since 2013,” Wilsey said. “The Humphrey School’s strength comes from its faculty with their scholarship, teaching, public engagement, and commitment to our students. I look forward to working across the School to support their success, strengthen shared governance, and help create the conditions for our academic community to thrive.”
Wilsey’s research and practice focus on integrated natural resource conservation and livelihood programs, with particular attention to forest- and farm-based livelihood systems and the role of non-timber forest products in food and livelihood security. His work examines market-based approaches that can support both livelihood and conservation goals.
Before joining the Humphrey School, Wilsey spent five years with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences. Although his work was situated within forestry, it regularly crossed disciplinary boundaries and included collaborations in small farms, community vitality, family resource management, and American Indian leadership.
Throughout his career, Wilsey has worked with forest-based and forest-oriented communities across the Americas, including in Minnesota, Mexico, Guatemala, and Ecuador. His experience connecting academic work with communities and practitioners has shaped his approach to teaching, research, and program leadership.
Wilsey earned his PhD in interdisciplinary ecology from the University of Florida in 2008, an MS in conservation biology from the University of Minnesota in 2002, and a BBA in finance from the University of Wisconsin in 1994.
Wilsey succeeds Yingling Fan, who concluded her leadership appointment and returned fully to her faculty role after three years of service as associate dean for faculty.
