Department Chair and Associate Professor 
Director, Core Curriculum and Quality Assessment

Ph.D., The Florida State University

Vitae

Dr. Thomas Sowers is an Associate Professor at Lamar University. He attended the University of Akron, from which he received a BA (1994) and MA (1996) in Political Science. He earned his Ph.D. from Florida State University in 2002. Dr. Sowers’ areas of specialization center on statistics and research methodology and international relations. He offers a number of classes, which include American Foreign Policy, Environmental Policy and Advanced Research Methods. He maintains an active and diverse research agenda.

Author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed publications including:

• “Bones of Contention: Comparing Territorial, Maritime and River Issues,” with Paul Hensel, Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, and Clayton Thyne, in Journal of Conflict Resolution
• “Conflict Management of Riparian Disputes: A Regional Comparison of Dispute Resolution,” with Paul Hensel, Sara McLaughlin Mitchell, in Political Geography
• “Race, Roll-Off, and Racial Transition: The Influence of Political Change on Racial Group Voter Roll-Off in Urban Elections,” with James Vanderleeuw Social Science Quarterly
• “The Role of EDCs in Local Economic Development: Evidence from Texas Cities” with James Vanderleeuw, Chris Jarmon, and Michael Pennington, in Economic Development Quarterly
• "Economic Development Perspective and City Leadership,“ with James Vanderleeuw, Chris Jarmon, Michael Pennington, and Terri Davis, in Urban Studies Research