KINGSVILLE (October 27, 2025) — Officials at the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute (CKWRI) at Texas A&M University-Kingsville have announced that Dr. Fidel Hernández has agreed to move into the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Chair for Wildlife, Livestock and Habitat Interactions positions.
“This has been a tough position to fill because of the necessity to understand livestock grazing, ranching and how it interacts with wildlife and its habitat,” said Dr. David Hewitt, executive director and Leroy G. Denman Jr. Endowed Director of Wildlife Research at the CKWRI said. “Hernández background of growing up on a ranch, his deep knowledge of South Texas vegetation and its habitat and his understanding amongst wildlife, livestock and habitat make him the perfect candidate.”
“I am honored to serve as the Sue and Radcliffe Killam Chair for Wildlife, Livestock, and Habitat Interactions. My upbringing gave me a deep, personal connection to rangelands, livestock, and agrarian life, and this new position allows me to unite those roots with my professional pursuits. I am sincerely grateful for the professional growth afforded to me by the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Chair in Quail Research and look forward to future opportunities in this new role,” said Hernández.
Along with Hernández’ recent move into the Killam Chair position, he has also been appointed as President of The Wildlife Society and will assume a partial faculty appointment with the King Ranch Institute for Ranch Management. Hernández will teach a graduate level grazing management course, mentor students, and serve on graduate committees, while continuing his wildlife-livestock interactions research with CKWRI.
About Dr. Fidel Hernández
Hernández joined the university in 1999 as an assistant professor in the department of animal and wildlife sciences and a research scientist with CKWRI. He became associate professor in 2005 and professor in 2011. In 2008, he became the Alfred C. Glassell Jr. Endowed Professor in Quail Research. Hernández was named Regents Professor in 2021; a fellow of The Wildlife Society in 2020; and a Fulbright Scholar in 2014.
He is a certified professional in rangeland by the Society for Range Management and is a member of The Wildlife Society, the Society for Range Management and the Ecological Society of America.
His book, written with F.S. Guthery, Beef, Brush and Bobwhites: Quail Management in Cattle Country (second edition), received Outstanding Book in 2014 by both the Texas Section of the Society for Range Management and the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society.
Hernández has received the Chancellor’s Teaching Award from the Texas A&M University System, the Rising Star Award from the Javelina Alumni Association, the Professional Conservationist of the Year Award from the Harvey Weil Sportsman Conservation Trust, the Teaching Excellence Award from the Dick and Mary Lewis Kleberg College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Hispanic Heritage Hero Award from Texas A&M-Kingsville.
He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology with a chemistry minor from Angelo State University and his doctorate in wildlife science from the joint Texas A&M University/Texas A&M-Kingsville program.
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