William P. Cunningham is Distinguished Teaching Professor of Biology at the University of Minnesota, where he has been on the faculty for 35 years. A member of the programs in Conservation Biology, Environmental Learning and Leadership, the MacArthur Program in Global Change, and the Institute for Social, Ecological and Economic Sustainability, his teaching now focuses mainly on environmental science and environmental ethics. He has been a visiting professor or research scientist in Sweden, Norway, Indonesia, and China as well as several Universities and laboratories in the United States. The author or co-author of approximately 50 research articles and reviews, Professor Cunningham is managing editor for the Environmental Encyclopedia published by Gale Research.

Having been active for many years in both local and national environmental issues, Cunningham has been Chair of the Minnesota chapter of the Sierra Club, Vice president of the Friends of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, a member of the State of Minnesota Legislative Commission on Energy, and the Governor's Advisory Committee on Energy Policy. His main hobbies are reading, canoeing (and canoe building), hiking, cross-country skiing, gardening, and birding. He has three children and three grandchildren.