Bolen, Eric G.

Eric G. Bolen worked for state and federal wildlife agencies as a wildlife biologist before turning to a career in the private sector and as a professor or administrator at several universities. After earning his Ph. D. from Utah State University in 1966, he was a professor at Texas Tech University until 1973. He then became the assistant director of the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation where he served until 1978, at which point he returned to Texas Tech as a professor and also as associate dean of the Graduate School. In 1988 he became dean of the Graduate School at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He authored or co-authored four major works and over 140 scientific articles related to ecology and wildlife management.

Eric G. Bolen was born on November 24, 1937, in New Jersey. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from University of Maine in 1959. He earned a Masters and a Doctoral degree from Utah State University in 1962 and 1967, respectively. Dr. Bolen has worked for both government wildlife management agencies and academic institutions. Between 1957 and 1961, he worked for the Vermont Fish and Game Department and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He served as an instructor of biology at Texas A and I University in 1965 and 1966. From 1966 to 1973, he worked as a professor at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He was then hired as Assistant Director of the Rob and Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation, in which capacity he served until 1978. He then returned to Texas Tech as professor and Associate Dean of the Graduate School. While there, he served as the research coordinator for the Caesar Kleberg Foundation for Wildlife Conservation that operated through the university. He was awarded the prestigious Paul Whitfield Horn professorship in 1981. Bolen moved to North Carolina in 1988 to become Dean of the newly established Graduate School of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. In 1994, he relinquished his deanship to return to the classroom as a member of the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences.

Dr. Bolen coauthored or co-edited four major works on ecology and wildlife management. He wrote or coauthored over 140 scientific articles. He was elected to the American Ornithologists’ Union and was named a lifetime member of The Wildlife Society and the Wilson Ornithological Society. Bolen served as editor of the Wildlife Society Bulletin from 1976 to 1978 and acted as a referee for numerous scientific journals.