Welcome to the Sustainable Global Cities Initiative Faculty Affiliate Directory! Are you looking for a researcher or topical expert in urban sociology, engineering, history, policy, health, or any other cities-related field? Browsing the SGCI’s list of Faculty Affiliates — all of whom are UConn researchers who specialize in urban topics — is the best place to start. We hope this Directory will help facilitate connections both among UConn researchers and between scholars and members of the general public who are seeking expertise on a wide variety of urban topics.

The SGCI uses six broadly-defined Core Research Themes, pictured at right, to better categorize UConn’s research capacity on topics involving cities. Our Faculty Affiliates are grouped according to these six themes. Affiliates self-select one primary Research Theme that best represents their research and scholarship, and — since cities-related research is often interdisciplinary — they typically select one or more secondary themes as well.

This page shows all SGCI Faculty Affiliates sorted by their self-selected primary Research Theme. To view all Faculty Affiliates who study any given research theme (as a primary OR secondary focus), or to view all Faculty Affiliates alphabetically by last name, please use the links located in the sidebar.

Click on any Faculty Affiliate name to see a detailed profile, including contact information, research interests, recent cities-related publications, useful links, and more.

You can learn more about the SGCI’s Faculty Affiliate program here.

SGCI Faculty Affiliates Sorted by Primary Research Theme

Built Environment

Photo	Name	Email
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	Carol Atkinson-Palombo	Director, Environmental Studies Program Associate Professor, Geography	carol.atkinson-palombo@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities	Phil Birge-Liberman	Associate Professor-in-Residence, Urban and Community Studies	phil.birge-liberman@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Governance and Urban Services	Maria Chrysochoou	Department Head and Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering	maria.chrysochoou@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Ken Foote	Director, Urban and Community Studies Professor, Geography	ken.foote@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|Other\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Mark Healey	Department Head and Associate Professor, History Faculty Affiliate, El Instituto	Mark.Healey@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Kerry L. Marsh	Professor, Psychological Sciences	kerry.l.marsh@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services	James O’Donnell	Executive Director and Professor, Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation	james.odonnell@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Cathy J. Schlund-Vials	Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute Professor, English and Asian and Asian American Studies	Cathy.Schlund-Vials@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Jin Zhu	Assistant Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering	jzhu@uconn.edu

Economic and Community Development

Photo	Name	Email
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Mohamad G Alkadry	Professor and Department Head, Department of Public Policy	mohamad.alkadry@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Mostafa Analoui	Executive Director, UConn Venture Development and Technology Incubation Program	mostafa.analoui@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development	Laura E. Brown	Associate Extension Educator, Community Economic Development	laura.brown@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Fred V. Carstensen	Director, Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis Professor, Finance, School of Business	fred.carstensen@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development	Jeffrey P. Cohen	Professor, Real Estate and Finance at UCONN’s Center for Real Estate Dean’s Ackerman Scholar, School of Business	jeffrey.cohen@business.uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Ryan Scott Coles	Assistant Professor, School of Business	ryan.coles@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Mary Donegan	Assistant Professor In-Residence, Urban and Community Studies	mary.donegan@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|SGCI Resident Faculty	Economic and Community Development\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Nathan Fiala	Assistant Professor, Agriculture and Resource Economics	nathan.fiala@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services	Timothy Bernarr Folta	Director, Connecticut Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Professor and Wolff Family Chair in Strategic Entrepreneurship	timothy.folta@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development	Economic and Community Development\|Other\|People and the City	David Garvey	Director, Nonprofit Leadership Program Adjunct Professor, Public Policy	d.garvey@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Other	Nishith Prakash	Associate Professor, Economics and Human Rights	nishith.prakash@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development	Christopher R. Vials	Associate Professor, English Director, American Studies	christopher.vials@uconn.edu
Economic and Community Development\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services	Robert H. Wilson	Director, Sustainable Global Cities Initiative Visiting Professor, Department of Public Policy	robert.h.wilson@uconn.edu

Governance and Social Services

Photo	Name	Email
Governance and Social Services\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Social-Ecological Systems	Prakash Kashwan	Associate Professor, Political Science	prakash.kashwan@uconn.edu
Governance and Social Services\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities	Kristin Kelly	Associate Professor, Political Science	k.kelly@uconn.edu
Governance and Social Services\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Mark Robbins	Professor, Department of Public Policy	mark.robbins@uconn.edu
Governance and Social Services\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Louise B. Simmons	Professor, School of Social Work Chair, Urban Issues in Social Work	Louise.Simmons@uconn.edu
Governance and Social Services\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Tanya Rhodes Smith	Director, Nancy A. Humphreys Institute for Political Social Work Instructor-in-Residence, Social Work	tanya.smith@uconn.edu

Healthy Cities

Photo	Name	Email
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Rob Aseltine	Chair and Professor, Behavioral Science and Community Health	aseltine@uchc.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Mary Bernstein	Professor, Sociology	Mary.Bernstein@uconn.edu
Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities	Phil Birge-Liberman	Associate Professor-in-Residence, Urban and Community Studies	phil.birge-liberman@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|Other\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Alaina Brenick	Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	alaina.brenick@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities	Xiang (Peter) Chen	Assistant Professor, Geography	xiang.chen@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities	Kristen Cooksey Stowers	Assistant Professor, Allied Health Sciences	kristen.cooksey@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|SGCI Staff	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	David G. Embrick	Director, Sustainable Global Cities Initiative Associate Professor, Sociology and Africana Studies	david.embrick@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Ken Lachlan	Department Head and Professor, Department of Communication	kenneth.lachlan@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Wizdom A. Powell	Director, Health Disparities Institute Associate Professor, Psychiatry	wpowell@uchc.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Beth Russell	Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	beth.russell@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Marlene Schwartz	Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	marlene.schwartz@uconn.edu
Healthy Cities\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Sarah Willen	Director, Research Program on Global Health and Human Rights Associate Professor, Anthropology	sarah.willen@uconn.edu

People and the City

Photo	Name	Email
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Jorge Aguero	Associate Professor, Economics and El Instituto	jorge.aguero@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Edith Barrett	CLAS Associate Dean Program Director, Urban and Community Studies Professor, Public Policy	edith.barrett@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|People and the City	Alexis Boylan	Director of Academic Affairs UConn Humanities Institute Associate Professor, Art + Art History Department and Africana Studies Institute	alexis.boylan@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Eric Brunner	MPA and MPP Program Director Professor, Department of Public Policy	eric.brunner@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Meina Cai	Assistant Professor, Political Science and Asian and Asian American Studies	meina.cai@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Scott Campbell	Associate Professor, English	scott.campbell@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Katharine Capshaw	Professor, English	capshaw@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Milagros Castillo-Montoya	Assistant Professor, Higher Education and Student Affairs, Education	milagros.castillo-montoya@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Noel Cazenave	Professor, Sociology and Urban and Community Studies	noel.cazenave@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Jason Oliver Chang	Director, Asian and Asian American Studies Institute Associate Professor, Asian American Studies and History	Jason.O.Chang@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Thomas Cooke	Professor, Geography	thomas.cooke@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Debanuj DasGupta	Assistant Professor, Geography and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies	debanuj.dasgupta@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Shardé Davis	Assistant Professor, Communication Faculty Affiliate, Africana Studies Institute and Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy	sharde.davis@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Other\|People and the City	Manisha Desai	Department Head, Sociology Professor, Sociology and Asian and Asian American Studies	manisha.desai@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Morgaen Donaldson	Director, Center for Education Policy Analysis Associate Professor, Educational Leadership Coordinator, Learning, Leadership and Education Policy Ph.D. Program (Leadership and Education Policy Concentration)	morgaen.donaldson@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Anne Gebelein	Associate Director, El Instituto Associate Professor-in-Residence, Latin American and Caribbean Studies	Anne.Gebelein@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Matthew Hughey	Associate Professor, Sociology Adjunct Faculty, Africana Studies, American Studies, Race, Ethnicity, and Politics (REP), Institute for Collaboration on Health, Intervention, and Policy (InCHIP)	matthew.hughey@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Other\|People and the City	Tamika P. La Salle	Associate Professor, Educational Psychology	tamika.la_salle@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Samuel Martinez	Professor, Anthropology	samuel.martinez@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Glenn Mitoma	Assistant Professor, Human Rights and Education Director, Thomas J. Dodd Research Center	glenn.mitoma@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Melanie Newport	Assistant Professor, History, American Studies, Urban and Community Studies	melanie.newport@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Anne Oeldorf-Hirsch	Assistant Professor, Department of Communication	anne.oeldorf-hirsch@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Mark Overmyer-Velazquez	Dean and Chief Administrative Officer, UConn Hartford Professor, History, Latino and Latin American Studies	Mark.Velazquez@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Melina Pappademos	Associate Professor, History	Melina.Pappademos@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Niralee K. Patel-Lye	Assistant Professor, Neag School of Education Associate Director of Teacher Education	niralee.patel-lye@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Kim Price-Glynn	Associate Professor, Sociology	kim.price-glynn@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Bandana Purkayastha	Professor, Sociology and Asian and Asian American Studies	bandana.purkayastha@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	People and the City	Tracy Rittenhouse	Director of Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Center Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources	tracy.rittenhouse@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Stephen Ross	Professor, Economics, Urban and Community Studies, and Public Policy	stephen.l.ross@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Rachel R. Tambling	Associate Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	rachel.tambling@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Jennifer Terni	Associate Department Head and Associate Professor, Literatures, Cultures, and Languages	jennifer.terni@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Charles R. Venator-Santiago	Associate Professor, Political Science, El Instituto	charles.venator@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City	Fiona Vernal	Associate Professor, History and Africana Studies	Fiona.Vernal@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Healthy Cities\|People and the City	Cristina Wilson	Associate Professor and Research Director, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities	cristina.wilson@uconn.edu
People and the City\|SGCI Faculty Affiliate	Governance and Urban Services\|People and the City	Ruodan Zhang	Assistant Professor, Department of Public Policy	ruodan.zhang@uconn.edu

Social-Ecological Systems

Photo	Name	Email
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	Juliana Barrett	Extension Educator, Connecticut Sea Grant	juliana.barrett@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Ross Buck	Professor, Department of Communication	ross.buck@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	John Cooley	Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	john.cooley@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Economic and Community Development\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Andrew Deener	Associate Professor, Sociology	andrew.deener@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	Robert T. Fahey	Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment	robert.fahey@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Mariana B. Alfonso Fragomeni	Assistant Professor, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture	mariana.fragomeni@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Kim M. Gans	Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences	kim.gans@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Economic and Community Development\|Social-Ecological Systems	James O'Neil Knighton	Assistant Professor, Department of Natural Resources and the Environment	james.knighton@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Governance and Urban Services\|Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Kathryn Libal	Director, Human Rights Institute Associate Professor, Social Work	kathryn.libal@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Jiff Martin	Associate Educator, UConn Extension, College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources	jiff.martin@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Social-Ecological Systems	Peter Miniutti	Associate Professor, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture	peter.miniutti@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Economic and Community Development\|Social-Ecological Systems	Michael O'Neill	Associate Dean and Associate Director, UConn Extension, College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources	mp.oneill@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Healthy Cities\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Eleanor Ouimet	Assistant Professor-in-Residence, Anthropology	eleanor.ouimet@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Healthy Cities\|Social-Ecological Systems	Sohyun Park	Assistant Professor, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture	sohyun.park@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	Farhed A. Shah	Associate Professor, Agricultural and Resource Economics	farhed.shah@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Governance and Urban Services\|Social-Ecological Systems	Nathaniel Trumbull	Associate Professor, Geography	trumbull@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Built Environment\|Social-Ecological Systems	Michael R. Willig	Executive Director, Institute of the Environment Director, Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering Professor, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology	michael.willig@uconn.edu
SGCI Faculty Affiliate\|Social-Ecological Systems	Economic and Community Development\|People and the City\|Social-Ecological Systems	Chuanrong (Cindy) Zhang	Department Head and Professor, Geography	cindy.zhang@uconn.edu

Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, and Equity

Faculty Affiliates by Research Theme