Larry Lof, Professor Emeritus, joined the faculty of Texas Southmost College in 1975.

Among his many accomplishments, Lof has faithfully carried the Gorgas Science Foundation torch passed by TSC Professor Barbara T. Warburton, who established the Rancho del Cielo Field Station in southern Tamaulipas, Mexico. The station became Lof’s second home, a place where he introduced countless students to America’s northernmost tropical cloud forests located along the eastern escarpment of northeastern Mexico’s Sierra Madre.

Lof is the current president of the Gorgas Science Foundation, established in 1947 by Warburton and formally established with Lof’s help as a non-profit organization in 1983.


Lof said he and Warburton’s followers have always kept her guiding principles close to heart. A case in point is taking control of the Sabal Palm Sanctuary from the Audubon Society in 2010.


“It has been a real pleasure to make Sabal Palm available again for the public,” Lof said. “This is a rare ecosystem that has poked its nose across the border, but really isn’t found anywhere else in South Texas. This is a place where students can study a small area that represents a forest that once covered most of the river delta and is now reduced to a few acres. It is essentially a snapshot of what our area was like 150 years ago when the Rio Grande was a mighty river that would flood across the lower delta every year.”


Along with an interest in biology and the natural sciences, Lof is passionate about local historical buildings and the architecture of the greater Rio Grande Valley that emerged with the confluence of people who settled the area. These include architectural influences from the coastal trading partners of the 18th and 19th centuries, especially styles from New Orleans and Galveston.


“Since I have worked with antiquated ways of construction in Mexico, I was able to translate that into saving the historic buildings of our area, both on campus but also volunteering my time in the community, which I still do,” he said.


In 2010, Lof received a Citation of Honor by the Texas Society of Architects, the state chapter of the American Institute of Architects. “Not being an architect, I was honored to be recognized by a professional group such as the AIA,” Lof said. “What is most important, though, is having the opportunity to call attention to the architectural legacy of the Rio Grande Delta.”