Stephen C. Stearns (born December 12, 1946)[1] is an American biologist, and the Edward P. Bass Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Emeritus at Yale University.

He then pursued a Master of Science degree at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, graduating in 1971.

Additionally, he chaired the European Science Foundation Program in Population Biology from 1994 to 1998 and served as Vice President of the Society for the Study of Evolution in 1995.

[8] In 1987, Stearns helped to found the European Society for Evolutionary Biology (ESEB) and later served on its council as well as its president.

[11] Additionally, they founded the online open-access journal "Evolution, Medicine, and Public Health" in 2013.