Headshot of Tom Safford

Thomas Safford

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
Phone: (603) 862-1876
Office: Sociology, McConnell Hall Rm 345C, Durham, NH 03824
Websites:
Curriculum Vitae

My research program focuses on understanding the social bases of environmental attitudes and beliefs, public perceptions of science and scientists, and analyzing inter-organizational relationships among public and private sector actors engaged in environmental management. I have conducted applied sociological research and developed methods for integrating social, natural, and physical science data to support policy-making and natural resource management in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), and the USDA Rural Development Program. I was a principal investigator on the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded New England Sustainability Consortium Project that investigated how social and institutional factors affect scientific engagement in coastal management in New England. I am interested in exploring how public perceptions of science and scientific practice influence policy debates such as those related to climate change, ocean and fisheries management, and global health pandemics. Current projects include investigating how access to scientific information and scientists’ engagement influence beliefs and attitudes about aquaculture development in Maine and an international collaboration with colleagues in Brazil and Ecuador studying water management and the social and economic implications of climate change for communities and the environment in the Amazon Basin. Prior to coming to UNH, I was a postdoctoral fellow at the NOAA Coastal Services Center and NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center and a USAID Population and Environment Fellow working with Pathfinder International in Salvador, Brazil. More recently, I was a Fulbright Scholar at the Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina in Florianópolis, Brazil in 2014-2015.

Courses Taught

  • IA 701: Exploring Intl Challenges
  • SOC 400: Introductory Sociology
  • SOC 665: Environmental Sociology
  • SOC 693: Global Social Change
  • SOC 730/830: Communities & the Environment
  • SOC 799H: Senior Honors Thesis
  • SOC 999: Doctoral Research

Education

  • Ph.D., Development Sociology, Cornell University
  • M.A., Latin American Studies, Stanford University
  • B.A., Political Science & Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Research Interests

  • Applied Sociology
  • Coastal Environment
  • Environmental Planning/Policy
  • Ethics/Values in Science and Technology
  • Globalization
  • International Affairs
  • International Planning/Policy
  • International political economy
  • International/Global Development
  • Marine Environment
  • Natural Resources Management
  • Organizational, environmental, science and technology
  • Social Change
  • Sociology
  • Sociology of Science
  • Environmental sociology

Selected Publications

  • Whitmore, E., Noll, A. L., Davis, C., Safford, T., & Hamilton, L. (2025). Public perceptions of aquaculture in Maine: The role of place-based values. Aquaculture, 600, 742197. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2025.742197

  • Whitmore, E., Davis, C., & Safford, T. (2025). Working the ground game: How Maine shellfish and seaweed farmers are building social license to operate. Aquaculture, 596, 741786. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2024.741786

  • Safford, T. G., & Whitmore, E. H. (2024). How should scientists act? Assessing public perceptions of scientists and scientific practices and their implications for science communication. Journal of Science Communication, 23(08). doi:10.22323/2.23080205

  • Malloy, J. T., Ashcraft, C. M., Kirshen, P., Safford, T. G., Aytur, S. A., & Rogers, S. H. (2022). Implementing just climate adaptation policy: An analysis of recognition, framing, and advocacy coalitions in Boston, U.S.A.. Frontiers in Sustainable Cities, 4. doi:10.3389/frsc.2022.928230

  • Whitmore, E. H., Safford, T. G., & Hamilton, L. C. (2022). What does the public think about farming seafood? Modeling predictors of social support for aquaculture development in the U.S.. Ocean & Coastal Management, 226, 106279. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106279

  • Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2021). Scientists, presidents, and pandemics-comparing the science-politics nexus during the Zika virus and COVID-19 outbreaks. SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, 102(6), 2482-2498. doi:10.1111/ssqu.13084

  • Hamilton, L. C., & Safford, T. G. (2021). Elite Cues and the Rapid Decline in Trust in Science Agencies on COVID-19. SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES, 64(5), 988-1011. doi:10.1177/07311214211022391

  • Safford, T., & Polette, M. (2021). Data or Misconceptions? Understanding the Role of Economic Expertise in the Development of Sustainable Marine Aquaculture in Santa Catarina, Brazil. In S. R. C. Seixas, & J. L. M. Hoefel (Eds.), Environmental Sustainability Sustainable Development Goals and Human Rights. London: CRC Press. Retrieved from https://www.routledge.com/

  • Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2021). Follow the scientists? How beliefs about the practice of science shaped COVID-19 views. JCOM-JOURNAL OF SCIENCE COMMUNICATION, 20(7). doi:10.22323/2.20070203

  • Safford, T. G., Whitmore, E. H., & Hamilton, L. C. (2020). Questioning scientific practice: linking beliefs about scientists, science agencies, and climate change. ENVIRONMENTAL SOCIOLOGY, 6(2), 194-206. doi:10.1080/23251042.2019.1696008

  • Safford, T. G., Vieira, P. F., & Polette, M. (2019). Scientific engagement and the development of marine aquaculture in Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. OCEAN & COASTAL MANAGEMENT, 178. doi:10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.104840

  • Norman, K. C., Safford, T. G., Feist, B. E., & Henly, M. (2016). At the Confluence of Data Streams: Mapping Paired Social and Biophysical Landscapes on the Puget Sound's Edge. COASTAL MANAGEMENT, 44(5), 427-440. doi:10.1080/08920753.2016.1208038

  • Safford, T. G., Norman, K. C., Henly, M., Mills, K. E., & Levin, P. S. (2014). Environmental Awareness and Public Support for Protecting and Restoring Puget Sound. ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 53(4), 757-768. doi:10.1007/s00267-014-0236-8

  • Safford, T. G., Ulrich, J. D., & Hamilton, L. C. (2012). Public perceptions of the response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill: Personal experiences, information sources, and social context. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, 113, 31-39. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2012.08.022

  • Safford, T. G., & Hamilton, L. C. (2012). Demographic change and shifting views about marine resources and the coastal environment in Downeast Maine. POPULATION AND ENVIRONMENT, 33(4), 284-303. doi:10.1007/s11111-011-0146-0

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