Rate My Professor Luke Dollar

Luke Dollar, Ph.D., serves as Bashore Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Environment and Sustainability at Catawba College, a position he has held since 2017. He earned undergraduate degrees in anatomy and biological anthropology, a master's degree in 2005, and a Ph.D. in ecology in 2006, all from Duke University. Prior to Catawba, Dollar was a full professor of biology at Pfeiffer University from 2006 to 2016. From 2009 to 2017, he directed National Geographic Society's Big Cats Initiative, funding over 115 field-based conservation grants worldwide. He also holds an adjunct professor position in Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment. Recognized as a National Geographic Explorer, Dollar is a wildlife biologist with more than 25 years of experience in conservation, research, education, and development programs, emphasizing grassroots initiatives for communities coexisting with predators.

Dollar's research centers on carnivore ecology and conservation, focusing on Madagascar's largest carnivore, the fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox), big cats, human-wildlife conflict, habitat analysis via satellite, and sustainable community programs. His efforts have produced extensive data on carnivore biology and behavior while establishing scholastic and business opportunities benefiting thousands of subsistence farmers and their children in Africa, including the construction or restoration of over 30 schools in Madagascar. Key publications include "Thin corridors limit wildlife: Variance of tropical carnivore distribution and habitat use in a critical rainforest corridor" (2024), "Spatial dynamics and activity patterns of the fosa Cryptoprocta ferox in Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar: carnivores navigating a human-influenced landscape" (2020), "Effects of habitat alteration and disturbance by humans and exotic species on fosa Cryptoprocta ferox occupancy in Madagascar's deciduous forests" (2019), "Retaliatory killing and human perceptions of Madagascar’s largest carnivore and livestock predator, the fosa (Cryptoprocta ferox)" (2019), and "Primates and Other Prey in the Seasonally Variable Diet of Cryptoprocta ferox in the Dry Deciduous Forest of Western Madagascar" (2007). Dollar has presented a TED Talk, been profiled in Discover magazine as "The Deadliest Carnivore," and serves on Catawba's Faculty Tenure and Promotion Committee and Institutional Operations Committee.