Southwestern University
AC-9: Research and Scholarship

NAME: Melissa Johnson
DEPARTMENT: Anthropology and Environmental Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Topical Nature, the more than human and the human; Race, Racism, Critical Race Theory; Environment; Conservation; Development; Social Theory; Environmental History; Racial History; Tourism; Gender.

NAME: Romi Burks and Environmental Studies
DEPARTMENT: Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Aquatic ecology, molecular ecology, wetland science, apple snails, invertebrate biology, and chocolate.

NAME: Jennie DeMarco and Environmental Studies
DEPARTMENT: Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Ecosystem Ecology, Plants, Soils, Carbon Sequestration, Arctic Ecosystems, Climate Change

NAME: Ben Pierce
DEPARTMENT: Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Genetics, Evolution, Ecology, Amphibians

NAME: Max Taub
DEPARTMENT: Biology
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Human Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, Plant Ecological Physiologist focusing on the responses of plants to environmental change, particularly increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.

NAME: Sara Massey
DEPARTMENT: Chemistry
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Physical Chemistry, Biophysical Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Collaborative Learning

NAME: Emily Niemeyer
DEPARTMENT: Chemistry
RESEARCH INTERSTS: analytical chemistry; analysis of flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds; Lamiaceae herbs; mass spectrometry; flipped classrooms; inquiry-based and active learning

NAME: Bob Bednar
DEPARTMENT: Communication Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Visual Culture, Visual Communication, Cultural Studies of Mass Media & Everyday Life, Public Memory, Trauma Studies, Automobility, Affect Theory, Material Culture, Tourism, Landscape & Built Environment, Design & Culture, Film Theory/Practice, Environmental Studies, American Studies, Contemporary U.S. Cultural History

NAME: Valerie Renegar
DEPARTMENT: Communication Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Rhetorical theory and criticism, feminist movements, third wave feminism, environmental rhetoric

NAME: Katherine Grooms
DEPARTMENT: Economics and Business
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Environmental Economics, Environmental Regulation, Political Economy, Pollution and Health

NAME: Alicia Moore
DEPARTMENT: Education
RESERACH INTERESTS: Multiculturalism/Culturally Responsive Teaching; Differentiated Instruction for diverse populations; Early Childhood Best Practices

NAME: Rebecca Evans and Environmental Studies
DEPARTMENT: English
RESEARCH INTERESTS: American literature and culture, multi-ethnic literature, the contemporary novel, genre studies, environmental humanities, social and environmental justice

NAME: Joshua Long
DEPARTMENT: Environmental Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Climate Justice, Urban Studies, Environmental Politics and Policy, Spatial Theory and Place-Based Studies, Sustainability Discourses.

NAME: Brenda Sendejo
DEPARTMENT: Feminist Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Anthropology of religion, Mexican American spiritualities and indigenous heritage, gender and racialization, and Chicana feminisms. Geographic specialization: U.S. - Mexico Borderlands, Central and South Texas.

NAME: Erika Berroth
DEPARTMENT: German
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Eco-Texts and Eco-Film, Eco-Pedagogy, Cultures of Environmentalism, Eco-criticism, Identity Politics and Notions of Home

NAME: Joseph Hower
DEPARTMENT: History and Environmental Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: U.S. History, Labor and Politics in Modern America, Social Movements, Urban History, Policy History

NAME: Laura Hobgood
DEPARTMENT: Religion and Environmental Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Animals in the history of the Christian tradition; human-dog history; contemporary religious-ethical issues related to other-than-human animals; religion and ecology; environmental studies; Ecofeminism; human-animal studies; alternative religious experiences (i.e. cycling as religion)

NAME: Ken Mello
DEPARTMENT: Religion
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Native American traditions, Contemporary Indigenous Identity, Sacred Space, Gender and Sexuality, Indigenous Myth and Narratives, other non-textual religious traditions.

NAME: María de los Ángeles Rodriguez Cadena
DEPARTMENT: Spanish
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Contemporary Mexican and Latin American Literature and Culture, Cultural memory, Cultural complexes, Historical fiction in literature, film and television, Mexican television and film female directors, Feminist Studies, Race and Ethnicity Studies, Nature and Culture, Environmental Humanities.

NAME: John Ore
DEPARTMENT: Theatre and Environmental Studies
RESEARCH INTERESTS: Lighting and Sound Design, Stage Management, Theatre Sustainability

All tenure and tenure-track faculty at Southwestern University conduct research. The total number was found here: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/southwestern-university/academic-life/faculty-composition/

To determine which faculty conduct sustainability research, the Sustainability Coordinator reviewed all the faculty online profiles with their reported research/specialties and determined which have research in environmental, social, and/or economic sustainability.