Dr. Lee Kats received his B.A. from Calvin College in Michigan and his Ph.D. in biology from the University of Kentucky. From 2001 until 2011 he served as Associate Dean for Research at Pepperdine University and beginning in 2011 has served as Vice Provost for Research and Strategic Initiatives. For the last two years he has served as Dean of Seaver College, Pepperdine’s undergraduate liberal arts college. He began teaching at Pepperdine in 1990.

In 2000, Dr. Kats was named as the Frank R. Seaver Chair in Natural Science at Pepperdine University. He conducts research in the areas of animal ecology, tropical ecology and conservation biology. For over 30 years he and his students have studied the conservation biology of local amphibians. He and his students focus on stream ecology, impacts of invasive species and predator-prey ecology and behavior. He also conducts research and teaches in Costa Rica and Argentina. He serves on the editorial board of the scientific journals Conservation Biology and Hydrobiologia.