Ron is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Mankato State University, Mankato, MN.

Ron received his MS in Interdisciplinary Studies (Archaeology focus) at Mankato State University, and his PhD in Interdisciplinary Archaeological Studies at the University of Minnesota in 2002. His specializations are Quaternary ecology and paleoethnobotany, which he employs in the study of prehistoric subsistence systems. He has recently been Senior Scientist on archaeological projects in Arkansas and Minnesota. Ron has served as Principal Investigator on Cultural Resource Management site inventory and test excavation projects involving nomination of properties to the National Register, and over the past five years has conducted botanical analysis on remains excavated from eight archaeological sites. Between 1996 and 1997, he was an archaeobotanical consultant to the Office of the State Archaeologist at the University of Iowa. Dr. Schirmer is the recipient of numerous research awards, and is a recognized expert in the archaeology of the Red Wing locality in southeast Minnesota. He is a member of the Society for American Archaeology, the Iowa Archaeological Society, and the Minnesota Archaeological Society.