Ingrid C. Burke will serve as the next dean of the School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, beginning her six-year term on Oct. 1, University President Peter Salovey announced Thursday.  

Burke, a biogeochemist focused on semiarid rangelands and on the effects of land management and climate on these systems, currently directs the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming. Salovey said her scholarship and strong managerial record made her a strong choice for the deanship.

“Professor Burke brings to Yale significant leadership skills and dedication to education and research,” Salovey said. “She is a respected intellectual leader in the United States and internationally, with a particular interest in fostering interdisciplinary scholarship.”

The appointment follows a nationwide search to replace Peter Crane, who stepped down as dean of F&ES on June 30, 2016 to become the inaugural president of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation, an estate of Rachel Lambert Mellon in Virginia that includes extensive gardens and a library of landscape history and plant science.

William Lauenroth, Burke’s husband and a professor in the Department of Botany at the University of Wyoming, will accompany her to Yale. They have two adult children.