Paul Gillan Risser (September 14, 1939 – July 10, 2014) was an American ecologist and academic from Oklahoma.

[3] After graduating with a bachelor's degree from Iowa's Grinnell College in biology in 1961, he then enrolled at the University of Wisconsin in Madison.

[1] In 1967, Risser joined the faculty of the University of Oklahoma in Norman, where he remained until 1981.

In 1986 he moved to the University of New Mexico where he was provost and later the vice president for academic affairs.

[2] Risser also led the effort to improve the College of Engineering along with athletics, with the football team recording its first winning season in 28 years during his tenure.