Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was featured in a Cardinal News article titled “New Tool Offers Transparency on Local Jails’ Cooperation With ICE and Creates New Opportunities for Public Engagement.” The article highlights the Deportation Data Project, which provides information about local and regional jails’ cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Bonds discusses how data from the project shows that jails across Virginia regularly hold individuals on behalf of ICE, including people who are not facing criminal charges. Read the article in Cardinal News.

Other media mentions for Bonds include:

• Data Centers (Williamsport Sun-Gazette)
  In fact, at least one data center requires these elected officials to report to them any “right to know” requests they receive. Professor Eric Bonds in the Sociology Department at the University of Mary Washington says this is not how a democratic government should work.

Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds, along with UMW students Braderick Hatch and Fiona Steffens, authored a commentary published by Virginia Mercury and Rappahannock News titled “Four Va. counties will pump almost 20 million gallons of water a day to Amazon. Cause for concern?”

The article examines agreements between four Virginia localities and Amazon to supply nearly 20 million gallons of water per day for data center cooling. Drawing on their research, the authors explore the potential impacts on local water resources and encourage greater public awareness of how large-scale data center development may affect communities.

The UMW students — Hatch, a junior sociology major, and Steffens, a sophomore double-majoring in business administration and economics — collaborated with Bonds on the research. Read the commentary in the Rappahannock News.

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

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 research project on the role of local jails in immigration enforcement in Virginia. Anderson is a double major in American studies and English: creative writing. Van Doren is a recent UMW graduation with a degree in sociology. Read the commentary in the Richmond Times Dispatch.

In addition, Bonds was mentioned by Virginia Mercury in an article titled, “Local governments race to attract data centers, often in spite of concerns from their constituents.” The piece mentions research by Bonds and his students, which found evidence that non-disclosure agreements are commonly signed between localities in Virginia and data center developers, allowing projects to move forward with little to no public participation. Learn more from Virginia Mercury

Associate Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

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 the Fredericksburg Free Press in an article titled “UMW’s Bonds to receive award from Virginia Coalition for Open Government.” The article notes how the VCOG named the winners of its 2026 Freedom of Information and open-government awards, and that Eric Bonds, a sociology professor at the University of Mary Washington, and the City of Newport News were selected as this year’s government honorees. Read more in Fredericksburg Free Press.

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

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.

Sociology Professor Eric Bonds

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 studying sociology—helped research for the article, titled Could increased transparency reduce the use of solitary confinement in Virginia’s local jails? The work is based on research the team conducted over the fall semester. Read the full piece published in the Virginia Mercury.

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds

Professor of Sociology Eric Bonds was featured in an NBC News article titled “How NDAs Keep AI Data Center Details Hidden from Americans.”

The piece examines how major tech companies are requiring local land sellers to sign non-disclosure agreements that restrict public knowledge about the construction of artificial intelligence data centers, raising concerns among communities about transparency. Bonds contributes his expertise by sharing findings from his research, which revealed that 25 of 31 localities in Virginia had signed NDAs with prospective or existing data centers — agreements that effectively limit discussion about how these projects may negatively affect nearby residents. Read more.