Elyse Zavar Ph.D.

Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director

Dr. Elyse Zavar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science at the University of North Texas. Earning her Ph.D. from Texas State University’s Department of Geography, her research employs mixed-methods to examine hazard mitigation and long-term disaster recovery, especially related to flood buyout and climate-induced acquisition programs. Of particular interest are the ways in which communities commemorate past loss, including relocations, and the role of commemoration in reducing risk to future events.

Ph.D. Environmental Geography
Department of Geography, Texas State University

M.A. Geography
Department of Geography, University of California, Los Angeles

B.A. Geology
Department of Geology, College of Wooster

Primary Research Interests:

Hazard mitigation, Disaster recovery, Climate change adaptation, Disaster commemoration, Buyouts, Property acquisitions

Other Information:

Zavar, E., Lavy, B., Hagelman III, R. R. (2020). Chain tourism in post-disaster recovery. Tourist Studies, 20(4), 429-449.

Zavar, E., Fischer, L. (2021). Fractured landscapes: The racialization of home buyout programs and climate adaptation. Current Research in Environmental Sustainability.

Elyse M. Zavar (Assistant Professor) & Ronald L. Schumann (Assistant Professor) (2019) Patterns of disaster commemoration in long‐term recovery, Geographical Review, 109:2, 157-179, DOI: 10.1111/gere.12316

Zavar, E. and Hagelman III, R.R. (2016), "Land use change on U.S. floodplain buyout sites, 1990-2000", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 25 No. 3, pp. 360-374.

940-565-2574

elyse.zavar@unt.edu