Groundbreaking Researcher First Holder of Walvoord Professorship at Iowa State

Jill Pruetz, one of Iowa State University’s rising faculty stars, has been named the first holder of the Walvoord Professorship in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (LAS).

Pruetz, associate professor of anthropology, has been recognized by multiple organizations in recent years for her groundbreaking work with chimpanzees in Senegal. The work has captured international attention for her research, which reported that chimpanzees from her site were using spear-shaped tools to hunt.

That discovery was ranked second among Wired News “Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007” and led to Pruetz being named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer in 2008. Her research has been a focus of a Public Broadcasting System “Nova” documentary titled “Ape Genius” and the spear-shaped tool used by the chimpanzees was included in an exhibit at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.

In addition to her work in Senegal, Pruetz conducts fieldwork around the world shedding light on how ecology influences today’s primates and shaped early human behavior. She is co-founder of the nonprofit organization DANTA, which is affiliated with the El Zota Biological Field Station in Costa Rica, where she has taught courses on primate behavior and ecology. She has also previously studied spider monkeys, howler monkeys, tamarins, patas, and vervets in such locales as Peru, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Kenya and Senegal.

Ellen Molleston Walvoord (’61 journalism) and Thomas Walvoord (’61 animal science) have established the expendable Walvoord Professorship. Ellen Walvoord is a retired executive, Abbott Laboratories; Tom Walvoord is a retired executive, Northern Trust. They reside in Harvard, Ill. She is an ISU Foundation governor and is a member of the Executive Campaign Committee for Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose and the LAS Dean’s Advisory Council.

“Professor Pruetz’s work is intriguing and courageous in many senses. Her focus and progress are spectacular,” said Ellen Walvoord. “President (Gregory L.) Geoffroy has spoken often about the importance of the retention and recognition of such faculty members. We heard his message.”

The gift is part of Campaign Iowa State, the university’s $800 million fundraising effort. More than $820 million in gifts and future commitments for facilities and student, faculty and programmatic support have been made to Campaign Iowa State.

- Iowa State University Foundation