Eric Bonds (ebonds)

Professor of Sociology

Monroe Hall Room 224
ebonds@umw.edu
540-654-1505

Academic Degrees

B.S., University of Wyoming; M.A., Minnesota State University at Mankato; Ph.D., University of Colorado at Boulder

Eric Bonds, Professor of Sociology, has a Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He studies climate change and environmental inequality in Virginia, most recently focusing on data center development and the environmental footprint of artificial intelligence. He has published numerous peer-reviewed academic articles and two editions of a social issues textbook, along with regular contributions to "The Fredericksburg Advance" and other news sites. Professor Bonds teaches classes in social issues, environmental sociology, environmental justice and social theory.

Eric Bonds in the News

Bonds and UMW Students Publish Guest Column for Richmond Times Dispatch

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds and two UMW students — Aaliyah Anderson and Tabitha Van Doren — published a guest column in the Richmond Times Dispatch titled, "One Virginia Jail Thought it Could Fix its Budget by Detaining Immigrants. It was Wrong." The column is the outcome of a semester-long Read more…

Bonds Highlighted by Fredericksburg Free Press for VCOG Award

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was selected to receive the 2026 Laurence E. Richardson Citizen Award by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government (VCOG) in recognition of his work to promote greater transparency in data center development and efforts to use the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. Bonds was featured by Read more…

Bonds Selected for Virginia Open Government Award

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was selected by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government's 2026 Laurence E. Richardson Citizen Award in recognition of his work to promote greater transparency in data center development and his efforts to include undergraduate students in research using the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. [...] The Read more…

Bonds Publishes Column on Need for Transparency in Data Center Development

Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds published a commentary in the Richmond Times-Dispatch on January 22nd on the need for greater transparency in data center water use. The column is titled "How Will the Data Center Boom Impact Virginia's Waters. Secrecy on this Topic Doesn't Bode Well." Read the full Read more…

Bonds and UMW Students Share Research on Administrative Segregation

Sociology Professor Eric Bonds and two UMW students worked together to publish a commentary in the Virginia Mercury urging greater public transparency in the use of isolated confinement in regional and local jails. The students—Aaliyah Anderson, an English creative writing and American studies double major, and Tabitha Van Doren, currently Read more…

Campus Directory

Professor of Sociology

Academic Degrees

Eric Bonds in the News

Footer