Robert Roop

 Robert G. Roop retired from HSUS at the end of 2010. He was the organization's Vice President for human resources and education, and president of Humane Society University, an HSUS affiliate. Before joining HSUS in 1996 as its director of human resources, he worked as a court probation officer in Baltimore.

Roop taught the "Coping with Compassion Fatigue" seminar for animal-welfare workers at Humane Society University and co-wrote a book on the subject entitled Compassion Fatigue in the Animal-Care Community.

Roop received his Human Resource Management doctorate from Bircham International University, a “diploma mill.” His doctoral thesis was a “Strategic plan of the humane society of the U.S.A.”

Since Roop served as a professor at Humane Society University and refers to himself as "Robert Roop, Ph.D.", it's important to note that Bircham is not legitimately accredited anywhere. The State of Oregon lists Bircham as an“unaccredited degree supplier” that doesn’t meet state-level standards. Bircham doesn’t show up in the federal Department of Education’s accreditation database either.

Bircham’s online list of students included Roop in 2001—when he was already an HSUS vice president. (HSUS later touted Roop’s academic credentials for a book he co-wrote in 2006.) So it’s highly likely that HSUS knew his academic credentials came from a diploma mill.