Avrum Shriar

Avrum Shriar is a Distinguished Career Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University's L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. Fluent in Spanish and French, his research integrates environmental planning, rural development, and international policy with fieldwork across 15 countries. Academic preparation includes a B.A. in Geography from Bishop's University, M.E.S. in Environmental Studies from Dalhousie University, and Ph.D. in Geography from University of Florida where he was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa.

His research examines:

• Environmental planning policy evaluation
• Rural development and farming systems
• Cultural and political ecology
• International development programming

Publications consistently analyze:

• Agricultural change in developing regions
• Poverty-deforestation linkages
• Development policy impacts
• Land preservation techniques

International fieldwork locations:

• Guatemala (Maya Biosphere Reserve)
• Bolivia (irrigation systems)
• Nicaragua/Honduras (UN food security)