Jessica Schad, Ph.D.

Field: Sociology
Areas of Focus: Natural Resource Sociology, Rural Communities

Expertise

• Rural communities
• Natural resource sociology
• Survey methodology

Bio

Dr. Jessica Schad’s research examines the impacts of natural resource-related trends or events on social interaction and perceived quality of life within different types of rural places at both individual and community levels. For instance, her research has focused on how the rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas development in the Bakken oil field impacted residents’ daily life, social interactions at the community level, and attitudes toward continued oil and gas development. She has also studied patterns in natural amenity-led migration in the Intermountain West and how such trends contribute to community-level conflict over local development issues. Dr. Schad also studies how social factors, processes, or structures play a role in attitudes and behaviors towards natural resources. She has examined how sense of place, land tenure, and social networks, for example, relate to soil and water conservation practice adoption and persistence among different types of agricultural producers and landowners in the U.S.

Dr. Schad is leading the UPEP, or Utah People and Enviornment Poll, that is tracking Utahans' perceptions on environmental issues of importance to the state. This is the start of an effort to create a mechanism for gathering timely, relevant, and longitudinal data on issues at the intersection of people and the environment in Utah to help inform policy to address environmental issues.