CSU alumnus named dean of Warner College of Natural Resources

Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre, two-time Colorado State University alumnus, was named the new dean of the Warner College of Natural Resources. 

Aguirre, who is from a small fishing town in Baja California, was initially a veterinarian before getting a master’s degree and Ph.D. from CSU in wildlife biology and conservation.

“I love animals, and I wanted to work with wildlife,” Aguirre said. “But a vet degree doesn’t allow you to do that, so I came back to school at CSU, and after 30 years of being out in the field, I have come back to be the new dean of Warner.” 

Aguirre’s experience from his degrees allowed him to blend veterinary medicine with wildlife conservation and create a new, globally recognized field of animal science.

“Through the experience of bringing those two degrees together and doing them here at CSU, along with working with a local company called One Health (Institute), I was able to get an award from the Finnish government for my work in wildlife anesthesia and the wellbeing of animals,” Aguirre said of his proudest accomplishment through CSU.
“I want to break cycles down in the department and colleges and across the university. Then we can have multiple colleges across the university working together on the environmental challenges we face.” –Dr. A. Alonso Aguirre
Inspired by his own journey, Aguirre hopes to break down barriers between all disciplines and encourage interdisciplinary connection — both internally in Warner and externally in CSU’s academic community.

“I want to break down disciplines and find how we are able to connect different departments and centers together to fight problems such as climate change, loss of forests and species extinction,” Aguirre said. “I think we have the tools: the faculty, the staff and the students to solve these problems by working together.”

Aguirre’s goals for Warner involve cross-campus connection and cooperation to solve environmental challenges and uphold the mission of a land-grant institute. 

“I want to break cycles down in the department and colleges and across the university,” Aguirre said. “Then we can have multiple colleges across the university working together on the environmental challenges we face.”

“I think that is our biggest challenge as deans, but I think we are at the right time to do it,” Aguirre said. “There is a lot of willingness for change with several new deans coming on board, and we are already talking about how we can join forces to solve these problems.”

Aguirre said the experience he received while studying at CSU and working with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the community he found in the conservation biology department prepared him for his career, and CSU’s community remains one of his favorite things about the university.

“My favorite thing about CSU is our community — the way that we engage with local communities and how we get our students to serve in the local community,” Aguirre said. “Being a land-grant institution is very important for us to be part of the community. We need to reach out to high schools, elementary schools and the public in general to have connection to CSU, which is very important for me and my program here.”

Going forward into the future with Warner, Aguirre hopes his legacy as dean continues to embrace the community.

“My legacy hopefully is a sense of community, of inspiration and also of how challenges can be solved by working together,” Aguirre said. “Not only through professor, student and alumni relations, but through relations with the local community and state and federal governments as well. I hope that I leave a sense that we can have a good future for the next generation.”