Daniel J. Fairbanks is the associate dean for the College of Science and Health at Utah Valley University. He has also been dean of undergraduate Education at Brigham Young University . He is a specialist in biology who has written books on the subject. He most recently comes to Utah from a position as department chair of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Fairbanks is a grandson of Avard Fairbanks and a great-grandson of John B. Fairbanks, prominent artists from Utah. He is also a sculptor who has works in some museum collections.