Kathy Sherman-Morris an Administrative Faculty Fellow for the College of Arts & Sciences. She earned her B.S.Ed. in social studies education specializing in geography from Mansfield University (1997), her M.S. in geosciences from Mississippi State University (1999), and her Ph.D. In geography from Florida State University (2006). She is also a professor in the Department of Geosciences, where she recently served as the director of the Geoscience Distance Learning Programs from 2012-2019.

Her research concentrates primarily on the communication of weather information, risk perception and the individual level responses to extreme weather events. For example—how do people decide they are at risk from a tornado or a hurricane and need to seek a safer location, and how do changes in warning information influence their perception of risk? She has also conducted research related to enhancing diversity in the geosciences and decisions involving weather and companion animals. Her work has been published in more than one dozen journals and has been funded by NSF and NOAA. Dr. Sherman-Morris most often teaches subjects that focus on the intersection of human and social systems with weather, climate, and extreme events such as Weather and Society or Applied Climatology. She also teaches classes in research methods and hazards.

Dr. Sherman-Morris has received several honors including the University Professional & Continuing Education Association (UPCEA), Excellence in Teaching Award (2019), the UPCEA South Region Continuing Education Faculty Award (2018), and the Dean’s Eminent Scholar Award (2016).

When she has the time, she enjoys traveling with her husband, John, as well as cooking (and eating!).