Dr. Mike Heithaus

Bio

DR. MIKE HEITHAUS is the Vice Provost of Environmental Resilience and the Biscayne Bay Campus at Florida International University and Executive Dean of FIU’s College of Arts, Sciences & Education. 

A marine ecologist and professor of Biological Sciences, Heithaus has dedicated his life’s work to helping create an inspiring and sustainable future. Under his leadership as Executive Dean, the College of Arts, Sciences & Education helped elevate FIU to No. 13 in the world for positive impact on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals by being recognized among the best in the world for Life Below Water, Life on Land, Clean Water and Sanitation, and Sustainable Cities and Communities by the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.

As a marine ecologist, Heithaus specializes in predator-prey interactions and the ecological importance of sharks and other large marine species. Helping to shape shark and ocean conservation, his work in Shark Bay Australia is the most detailed study of the ecological role of sharks in the world and has been used as the underpinning for affecting positive policy changes. His collaborative work also helped provide the foundation for successful proposals that have expanded protections for sharks and rays including those set by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

He has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and co-edited five books on the biology of sharks and their relatives. Sharing his passion for science, Heithaus has been involved in the production of more than 30 natural history documentaries, including many featured on National Geographic’s Shark Fest and Discovery’s Shark Week. He also hosted National Geographic Channel’s Crittercam television series. He has co-written two high school science textbooks and is an author on national K-8 science programs.

Heithaus previously served as executive director of the School of Environment, Arts and Society where he greatly enhanced the visibility of the university’s environmental work and served on the Mayor’s Sustainability Advisory Council for Miami-Dade County, while also creating the Tropical Conservation Institute and leading an effort to make Aquarius part of FIU. Before that, he served as director of the Marine Sciences Program.

He is a member of the Academy of Science, Engineering and Medicine of Florida and an inaugural member of its board of directors. He also is an Explorers Club fellow and associate editor of Environmental Biology of Fishes. He has been a member of the Science Advisory Committee for Pew Environment’s Global Shark Program and Zoo Miami Foundation Board of Directors, where he chaired the Education Committee.

Prior to joining FIU, Heithaus was a scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory’s Center for Shark Research. He also worked with National Geographic’s Remote Imaging Department where he conducted studies using their Crittercam. He received a B.A. in Biology from Oberlin College in 1995 and completed his Ph.D. at Simon Fraser University in 2001.