Dr. Thomas R. Fox named 2016 Distinguished Alumnus in the School of Forest Resources

foxDr. Thomas Fox is the Honorable Garland Gray Distinguished Professor of Forestry in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation at Virginia Tech. He is also the Co-Director of the Forest Productivity Cooperative and the Virginia Tech Site Director for the NSF Center for Advanced Forestry Systems. The overall goal of his research and outreach program is to increase the productivity, sustainability and profitability of managed forests in the United States and in Latin America. He works with pine and Eucalyptus plantations in the southeast and throughout Latin America. He also works in hardwood stands in the Appalachian Mountains.  He is active in the IUFRO Planted Forest Task Force and is Chair of the IUFRO Division 8 Forest Soils Working Group.

He served as chair of the NCASI Sustainable Forestry Task Force and received a distinguished service award from NCASI.  Dr. Fox served as Chapter Chair of the Suwannee Chapter of the SAF, as Science and Technology Chair of the Appalachian SAF, and as the chair of the SAF Forest Soils Working Group. He also served on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Forestry Association and has been active in the Florida Forestry Association and the Georgia Forestry Association. Dr. Fox teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in forest soils and silviculture.

In 2010, Dr. Fox was a Fulbright Scholar and Visiting Professor at Pontificia Universdad Catolica de Chile in Santiago, Chile where he worked on issues related to climate change and carbon sequestration.

Dr. Fox received a B.S. in Forestry and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Pulp and Paper Science from the University of Maine, a M.S. in Forest Soils from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. in Soil Science from the University of Florida.  Prior to joining the faculty of Virginia Tech, Dr. Fox was the Manager of Research and Productivity for Rayonier for 12 years. In that role he coordinated research and technology transfer activities designed to optimize the financial returns from 2 million acres of timberland in Florida, Georgia and Alabama.  Prior that that, he also worked for Weyerhaeuser in Washington and International Paper in Maine.

Dr. Fox is a Registered Professional Forester in Maine and Georgia, a SAF Certified Forester and a SSSA Certified Professional Soil Scientist. He received the Stephen Spurr Award for Research from the Florida SAF and the Barrington Moore Award for Research in Biological Sciences from the Society of American Foresters.  He is a Fellow in the Soil Science Society of America and the Society of American Foresters.   He is married to Christina Fox, who is also a forester and has two boys age 13 and 10 who are being forced to learn dendrology.  He enjoys hiking and sailing.

The School of Forest Resources is pleased to recognize Thomas Fox as the 2016 Distinguished Alumnus.