Joshua Holbrook

Prof. Joshua Holbrook joined the Montreat College faculty in 2017. Prior to coming to Montreat he taught students at the Palm Beach Zoo and Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Prof. Holbrook has also had the opportunity to educate much broader audiences, appearing as a guest on reptile-related programs with the Weather Channel, the History Channel, the Discovery Channel and NatGeo—many of these programs are facilitated by Josh’s pioneering work with the exotic Burmese Pythons and chameleons in southern Florida.

Prof. Holbrook earned his B.S. in Biology from Palm Beach Atlantic University and M.S. in Environmental Science from Florida Atlantic University (FAU). His primary areas of academic interest are wetland community ecology and herpetology, and his research experience has brought him to collaborations with entities as varied as the National Park Service, the North Carolina and Florida Park Service, the North Carolina Wildlife Resource Commission and number of academic institutions. Prof. Holbrook is currently collaborating with Dr. Tom Chesnes and Palm Beach Atlantic University for a study of the conservation status of the Mangrove Saltmarsh Snake, and with undergraduate researchers monitoring amphibian and reptile diversity in some of western North Carolina’s natural areas.

One of Prof. Holbrook’s passions is to learn new things and to share them with others, and he is excited about educating at a place where “mere” teaching can become discipleship and students can learn how achieve excellence as both scientists and followers of Christ—to remember that, in all we do “it is the Lord Christ whom you serve” (Col. 3:24). To that end, he always seeks to get students involved in ‘the real stuff’ of environmental science and biology, learning both field research skills and the things that make it possible—and meaningful—to others. For a Christian, all of Environmental Science comes down to the stewardship of creation and awe of its Creator.

Prof. Holbrook and his wife, Beka, have two daughters, Chava and Josephine, and they enjoy spending time together hiking and looking for salamanders and bugs. Before coming to Montreat, the members of the Holbrook family were missionaries serving at the home campus for Equip International, teaching sustainable agriculture and missionary medicine. Prof. Holbrook is also an ordained minister, and preaches regularly at Blue Ridge Church in Marion.