Joseph Hiller

Dr. Joe Hiller served over 34 years on the faculty of the Universities of Wyoming, Alaska and Arizona. He served as head of two different academic departments; and provided national leadership for the Federally Recognized Tribal Extension Program (FRTEP). He managed federal agricultural research funding through the Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station. He trained over two dozen master’s and doctoral students in agriculture and natural resources and American Indian Studies. He retired in 2012 and holds professor emeritus status at UA.

He earned Bachelor’s degrees at South Dakota State University; a Master’s Degree and a Doctorate in Rangeland Ecology and Watershed Management from the University of Wyoming. He was awarded an honorary degree in Lakota Leadership from Oglala Lakota College. He graduated high school at Hot Springs, SD.

He serves as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, for the Native American Agriculture Fund; and spent over 9 years on the Board of the Indian Land Tenure Foundation. He was an elected officer/former president of a local Irrigation District; and was recently appointed to the advisory board of the Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources at the University of Wyoming. He is a Veteran of the US Army Special Forces, having served in conflict areas worldwide; and is a life member of the Special Forces Association, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Disabled American Veterans.

He is an instrument-rated private pilot, retired horseshoer (now blacksmithing) and was once an aspiring saddle bronc rider. Joe and his wife live in rural northwestern Nebraska where they feed cattle, raise irrigated pasture and hay. They have two grown children and four grandchildren.