Robert Thomas

Dr. Robert A. Thomas is an academician, a business/environmental community liaison, a media source for environmental news, and a family man. He was Founding Director of the Louisiana Nature Center, where he served as the liaison for the community in information pertaining to science education, environmental issues, and natural history. Dr. Thomas is professor of Mass Communication, holds the Loyola Distinguished Scholar Chair in Environmental Communication, is adjunct professor of Biological Sciences, sits on The Environment Program Faculty, and is the Founding Director of the Center for Environmental Communication at Loyola University New Orleans.  He is the recipient of the 2011 Dux Academicus award at Loyola. He received his Ph.D. in Evolutionary & Tropical Biology from Texas A&M University and has held adjunct professorships at the University of New Orleans, Tulane University, and Louisiana State University.  Bob's activities at Loyola include an active teaching program in environmental communication and biology, many activities relating to coastal issues communication, working in the realm of environmental intervention where industry and communities collide, environmental communication programs in tropical areas (principally Belize, Trinidad, Guatemala, and the eastern Caribbean), tropical biology, nature-based tourism, and environmental education and landscaping. He has published many papers in the fields of herpetology (reptiles and amphibians; specializing in the Neotropical snake fauna), environmental communication, and nature center administration.  As mentioned, his most avid interests are in environmental communication, restoring America’s WETLAND (Louisiana’s coastal wetlands), tropical natural history/interpretation, and nature center-based environmental education. Bob fervently believes that environmental solutions will be the result of open and honest communication, coupled with trust and integrity, among stakeholders.