Meet Mary Schutter

Mary was born in Panarama City, California, but the first few years of her life were spent playing on the beaches of Papua New Guinea while her parents were missionaries. Her family then moved to the small town of Harveyville, Kansas, the site of a family homestead, where Mary spent the rest of her childhood. She attended the same schools as did her grandfather and great uncles before graduating from Mission Valley High School in 1989. Mary received her B.S. in Biology/Microbiology from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, her M.S. in Soil Science at the University of Delaware, and her Ph.D. in Soil Science at Oregon State University.

As a child, Mary always wanted to be a biologist. She began to focus her interests on microbiology as an undergraduate student, when she became involved in a project studying bacteria adapted to extremely salty environments. She then turned to the study of microorganisms living in soil, partly because of the diverse habitats which soils provide. Because of the complex physical and chemical nature of soil, says Mary, “soils can support the greatest diversity of bacteria compared to any other ecosystem on earth”.

After a post-doctoral position with USDA-ARS in Fresno, CA, Mary moved to CSU in August 2001. Her research interests include how soil microbial communities and their activities respond to habitat disturbances. She currently is studying the recovery rates of soil bacteria and fungi in forest soils burned by the Hayman fire. She is also investigating how long-term applications of biosolids may benefit microorganisms in rangeland soils. Mary is also excited for the opportunity to work in dryland agroecosystems, where she plans to compare the microbial ecologies of conventionally-tilled soils versus no-tillage soils.

Mary is engaged to John Stromberger, who also works at CSU. Besides planning their June wedding, she enjoys reading and hiking in her spare time. She also loves turtles, and looks forward to raising box turtles again.