Dr. Avinash Thombre has been a faculty member in the Department of Applied Communication at UA Little Rock for 14 years. He is a professor of Applied Communication and a public servant in the health, sustainability, and communication fields.
His work in communications earned him Top Paper awards in Indiana, Japan, and London. He is a member of the National Communication Association and the International Communication Association. Thombre co-authored a peer-reviewed book, “Intercultural Communication: The Indian Context.” He authored and co-authored six peer-reviewed articles in national and international journals. Thombre provides exciting study abroad opportunities for his students to experience intercultural communication in countries like India, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina.
Outside of teaching, Thombre works in the fight against childhood obesity and promotes healthy lifestyles. Through a grant from Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield, he visited local middle schools, provided healthy foods and taught children how to live healthier. A segment about his initiatives was featured on KARK Channel 4.
Thombre promoted HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention through a grant from the Arkansas Department of Health on campus. He partnered with Dr. Michael DeAngelis and Dr. Stephen Grace of UA Little Rock and earned a Seed Grant to landscape the Campus Community Garden and provide healthy foods for the Trojan Pantry. He also received a grant to study UA Little Rock’s readiness toward sustainability, a project in which he collaborated with others to develop a zero-waste policy proposal for the year 2022. Thombre is passionate about preventative health and sustainability, evident in his work with various campus workshops, the Winthrop Rockefeller Cancer Center, City Year Little Rock, and other local organizations.
Thombre holds a Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico, a B.A. from Indira Gandhi National Open University in India, and an M.S. and Bachelor of Science from Bangalore University in India.