Mary Ann Rankin

Mary Ann Rankin joined the National Math and Science Initiative as Chief Executive Officer on August 1, 2011. Prior to joining NMSI, Dr. Rankin served as Dean of the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin from September, 1994 to August,  2011.  Prior to her term as Dean, she was Chairman of the Division of Biological Sciences at UT Austin from September, 1989 to August, 1994.  She joined UT Austin in January of 1975 as Assistant Professor of Zoology and was subsequently promoted to Associate Professor in 1981 and Professor in 1986.  Dr. Rankin received her BS degree in Biology and Chemistry from Louisiana State University in New Orleans, served as a National Science Foundation pre-doctoral fellow at the University of Iowa and Imperial College Field Station, Ascot, England, and was awarded a Ph.D. in physiology and behavior from the University of Iowa in 1972.  She then served as a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University until joining the faculty at UT Austin.  Dr. Rankin’s research focuses on studies of the physiological relationships governing the evolution of insect life history strategies. She is a member of the American Entomological Society, the Royal Entomological Society, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She also currently serves on the board of directors of the Southwest Research Institute.  As dean she oversaw, along with her administrative team, the development of numerous new interdisciplinary research initiatives, construction of five new science buildings, and the establishment of several successful programs for undergraduates including the UTeach program for math and science teacher preparation, the UT Discovery Learning initiative, the Texas Interdisciplinary Plan, and the UT Austin Freshman Research Initiative.  Under her leadership the College of Natural Sciences raised over half a billion dollars from private donors for these and related programs.