Mark V. Barrow, Jr.

Mark Barrow, a professor in the Department of History since 2010 and a member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 1992, served as chair of the department from 2010 to 2019. Barrow is the author of two books — Nature’s Ghosts: Confronting Extinction from the Age of Jefferson to the Age of Ecology and A Passion for Birds: American Ornithology after Audubon — and a coauthor of two textbooks, United States History Online and Digital History Reader. His current research focuses on changing attitudes toward human-induced extinction, primarily in the United States, from the 18th century to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. He is also pursuing work on the cultural history of the American alligator. Barrow has received numerous awards for teaching excellence at Virginia Tech, including, most recently, the William E. Wine Award and the Diggs Teaching Scholars Award. He received his doctorate in the history of science from Harvard University and his bachelor’s in history from the University of Florida.