Roger Fouts

Who is Roger Fouts?

Roger S. Fouts is an American primate researcher. He is co-director of the Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute in Washington, and a professor of psychology at the Central Washington University. He is best known for his role in teaching Washoe the chimpanzee to communicate using a set of signs taken from American sign language.

Fouts is an animal rights advocate, citing the New Zealand Animal Welfare Act as a model for legal rights for the Great Apes, and campaigning with British primatologist Jane Goodall for improved conditions for chimpanzees. He has written on animal law and on the ethics of animal testing. He is also an adviser to the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics.

He is married to Deborah Fouts, who is also co-director of CHCI.