Rate My Professor Thomas McElroy

Thomas McElroy is an Associate Professor of Biology in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology at Kennesaw State University. He earned his Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Mississippi State University in 1999, an M.S. in Biological Sciences from Mississippi State University in 1995, and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Bloomsburg University in 1991. Prior to joining Kennesaw State University, McElroy served as Instructor-of-Record for Animal Biology, enrolling 120 students, at Mississippi State University in fall 1998 and as a laboratory instructor for various courses. He was awarded the Mississippi State University Department of Biological Sciences Student Teacher of the Year in 1999. At Kennesaw State, he chairs the Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology Department Faculty Committee, mentors students in the Master of Science in Integrative Biology program, and was honored in 2024 by the College of Science and Mathematics for securing external research funding. With extensive teaching experience spanning over two decades across outdoor education, laboratory assistance, and classroom lecturing, McElroy is prepared to teach a wide spectrum of Biological Sciences courses.

McElroy's research centers on molecular ecology, exploring ecological factors structuring genetic variation within and among natural populations and communities, with relevance to natural resource management. Active projects encompass bat ecology and conservation, phytoremediation of lead-contaminated soils using switchgrass, population genetics of rare salamanders, and urbanization impacts on wildlife genetics. He has co-authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and proceedings, including "Differential Toxicity and Venom Gland Gene Expression in Centruroides vittatus" (PLOS ONE, 2017), "Isolation by Distance Shapes Population Genetic Structure of a Rare Terrestrial Salamander, Plethodon petraeus, with an Extremely Narrow Range" (Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 2021), "Evaluation of Chelating Agents Used in Phytoextraction by Switchgrass of Lead (Pb) Contaminated Soils" (Plants, 2022), "Extinction-Colonization Dynamics Structure Genetic Variation of Spotted Sunfish (Lepomis punctatus) in the Florida Everglades" (Molecular Ecology, 2003), and a refereed book chapter "Ecological Scale and Its Implications for Freshwater Fishes in the Florida Everglades" (2001). McElroy provides undergraduate research opportunities, supervising projects presented at conferences like the Association of Southeastern Biologists and Evolution meetings, fostering skills in independent thinking and communication.