Welcome

Professor, Department of Anatomy, Case Western Reserve University (July 2017 to present)

• Director, MS in Applied Anatomy program (2018-present)
• Associate Professor (July 2009 – June 2017)
• Assistant Professor (November 2003 to June 2009)
• secondary appointment in Department of Biology (2006 to present)
• direct and teach head/neck anatomy in graduate gross anatomy course (ANAT 411)
• direct and teach surgical anatomy courses (ANAT 510, 516)
• teach head/neck anatomy in CWRU medical school curriculum (WR2)
• teach an undergraduate/graduate mammal diversity course (BIOL 345/ANAT 445)
• conduct research, mostly on South American mammals

Editor-in-chief, Journal of Mammalian Evolution (2021-present)

• guide direction of journal and make all final editorial decisions 
• recruit and work with Associate Editors and Editorial Board
• review and update Author Instructions and style guide for submitting manuscripts

Docente Externo, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Austral de Chile, Valdivia

• serve on thesis committees for students pursing the Magíster en Paleontología
• collaborate with faculty and students on projects and other initiatives

Lecturer, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago (October 2000 to October 2003)

• served as course director for Human Morphology, a course for medical and graduate students that integrated anatomy, embryology, and histology
• presented 28 lectures in total
• conducted research on South American fossil mammals at The Field Museum

Post-Doctoral Research Scientist and Education Program Developer, The Field Museum, Chicago (January 2000 to December 2000)

• helped define new liaison position between Geology and Education departments
• reviewed scientific content for Education programs dealing with Sue the T. rex and paleontology
• designed and implemented training program for volunteers working with the Sue exhibit
• wrote scripts, organized content, and hosted “electronic field trips” dealing with the Sue exhibit
• conducted research on South American fossil mammals

PhD, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago (1997-2000)

• Thesis: Archaeohyracidae (Mammalia: Notoungulata) from the Tinguiririca Fauna, central Chile, and the evolution and paleoecology of South American mammalian herbivores
• Advisors: John Flynn and Jim Hopson

MS, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, The University of Chicago (1994-1996)

• Thesis: Micromammal cave fossils from northwestern Honduras
• Advisors: Bill Turnbull and Jim Hopson
• National Science Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship

BA, Interdepartmental Studies (Organismal Biology), The University of Iowa, Iowa City (1989-1993)

• Ernest R. Johnson Memorial Prize for Highest GPA, College of Liberal Arts
• Penningroth Award for Overall Achievement
• Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society
• Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Honor Society
• Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity
• Barry Goldwater Scholarship for Excellence in Science and Mathematics
• Homecoming King
• University of Iowa Presidential Scholarship

Dr. Darin Croft is a Professor in the Department of Anatomy at Case Western Reserve University and a Research Associate at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He has secondary appointments in the departments of Biology and EEPS (Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences) at Case Western Reserve University and is also a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, and the Field Museum in Chicago. He came to Cleveland from The University of Chicago in 2003.

Dr. Croft’s primary research area is the evolution of mammals in South America, including rodents, armadillos, sloths, marsupials, and several groups of extinct herbivores known as South American native ungulates or SANUs. He is particularly interested in paleoecology, which is the study of how extinct animals lived and interacted with one other, and the evolution of mammal communities on isolated continents. He currently serves as Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Mammalian Evolution, which publishes articles on a wide array of topics dealing with living and extinct mammals. Fieldwork is an integral part of Dr. Croft’s research, and he has led or participated in dozens of field expeditions. Most of these have been to sites in South America, especially Chile and Bolivia, but he has also worked in Australia, Madagascar, and western North America.

Dr. Croft participates in many formal and informal educational activities. At Case Western Reserve University, he teaches head and neck anatomy to medical students and graduate students and teaches a course on mammal diversity and evolution to undergraduates. In collaboration with various museums, he has given presentations, helped design web sites and exhibits, and participated in live and taped video productions designed to teach both adults and children about paleontology, mammals, and evolution. He draws on his research to illustrate principles of fossil discovery, preparation, exhibition, and scientific investigation to people of all ages.

In his leisure time, Dr. Croft volunteers for The Ohio State University Extension (an organization that brings research-based horticultural information to the public), Nature in My Backyard (a program of the Audubon Society of Greater Cleveland that seeks to promote backyard wildlife habitat), and several other local groups. He enjoys traveling, speaking Spanish, trail running, doing CrossFit, gardening, and rooting for the Cleveland Cavaliers.