Faculty Profile

Elyse Zavar

Title
Associate Professor
Department
Emergency Management and Disaster Science
College
College of Health and Public Service

    

    

      


                          

            
Curriculum Vitae

            

              Click Here to View Faculty CV
            

          

        
                          

            
Education

            



  

  


  
PhD, Texas State University, 2014. 
Major: Environmental Geography
Dissertation Title: The Value of Open Space: A Geographic Case Study of Floodplain Buyouts in Lexington, Kentucky.
MA, University of California, Los Angeles, 2010. 
Major: Geography
Degree Specialization: Biogeography
Dissertation Title: Holocene Vegetation Change in the Western Siberian Lowlands Based Upon Comparison of Fossil and Modern Pollen Assemblages
BA, College of Wooster, 2007. 
Major: Geology





          

        
                

          
Current Scheduled Teaching*


          
EADP 2030.001, Climate Change Resilience, Spring 2024 Syllabus
EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Spring 2024 
EADP 3020.001, Methods in Emergency Management, Spring 2024 Syllabus
EADP 4900.001, Special Problems, Spring 2024 


          
*
  Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of
  higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for
  undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.
  

        

      

    

  


    

    

      


        


          


            
Previous Scheduled Teaching*


            
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Fall 2023 
                    

                    EMDS 5800.002, Seminar in Emergency Management and Disaster Science, Fall 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    BIOL 5900.787, Special Problems, Fall 2023 
                    

                    BIOL 5910.787, Special Problems, Fall 2023 
                    

                    EADP 2030.001, Climate Change Resilience, Spring 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Spring 2023 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Spring 2023 
                    

                    EMDS 5615.001, Environmental Planning and Hazards, Fall 2022  SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Fall 2022 
                    

                    EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Summer 2022 
                    

                    EMDS 5950.005, Master's Thesis, Summer 10W 2022 
                    

                    EADP 2030.001, Climate Change Resilience, Spring 2022 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Spring 2022 
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Fall 2021 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Fall 2021 
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Methods in Emergency Management, Fall 2021 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Summer 8W1 2021 
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Spring 2021 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Spring 2021 
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Spring 2021 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5615.001, Environmental Planning and Hazards, Fall 2020 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 4951.702, Honors College Capstone Thesis, Fall 2020 
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Fall 2020 
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Fall 2020 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Spring 2020 Syllabus
                    

                    EMDS 5950.003, Master's Thesis, Spring 2020 
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Spring 2020 Syllabus
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Fall 2019 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5950.002, Master's Thesis, Fall 2019 
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Fall 2019 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.002, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Spring 2019 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3020.001, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Spring 2019 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 5615.001, Environmental Planning and Hazards, Fall 2018  SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3020.002, Practical Methods in Emergency Management, Fall 2018 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EMDS 6800.004, Seminar in Emergency Management and Disaster Science, Fall 2018  SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.002, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Spring 2018 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 4900.001, Special Problems, Spring 2018 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.001, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Fall 2017 Syllabus SPOT
                    

                    EADP 3035.002, Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Fall 2017 Syllabus SPOT

          


          
*
  Texas Education Code 51.974 (HB 2504) requires each institution of
  higher education to make available to the public, a syllabus for
  undergraduate lecture courses offered for credit by the institution.
  

        

      

    

  

  
  	

	

	  

		

		   
Published Publications



  

  
Published Intellectual Contributions


  
Book Chapter
Siebeneck, L. K., Zavar, E., Wolfe, R.  (2023). The Roles of Geographers and Land Use Managers in Emergency Management. The Distributed Functions of Emergency Management and Homeland Security: An Assessment of the Responsibilities of Vital Professions in Disasters and Terrorist Attacks. CRC Press. 
Zavar, E., Lavy, B. L., Stern, E.  (2021). Mitigation: Learning from and anticipating crises. Oxford Encyclopedia of Crisis Analysis. 
Roe, S., Zavar, E. M. (2018). Geographically Gated Communities: why indirect segregation  is the new normal. Collective Action. Rowman & Littlefield. 
Zavar, E. M., Hagelman III, R. R., Rugeley II, W. M. (2015). Site, situation, and property owner decision- making after the 2002 Guadalupe River flood. Evolving Approaches to Understanding  Natural Hazards. 458-470. . Newcastle-Upon-Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 
Journal Article
Lavy, B., Zavar, E. M., Tamima, S.  (2023). Heritage as businesses: COVID-19 disruptions to Texas museums, heritage sites, parks, and protected places and their responses to evolving guidance. Other. 11(4), 652-668. 
Dascher, E. D., Zavar, E., Greer, A., S. B. (2023). Biophilia  as Climate Justice for Post-Buyout Land Management. Applied Geography. 
Zavar, E., Greer, A., Binder, S. B., Niazi, S.  (2023). The Post-buyout Landscape: An analysis of visual culture. GeoJournal. 
Lavy, B., Zavar, E. M. (2023). Recovering the urban forest: The role of trees, tree culture, and place attachment before and after Hurricane Harvey. Other. 84, . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ufug.2023.127949
Zavar, E., Binder, S. B., Greer, A., Breaux, A.  (2023). Using the past to understand future property acquisitions: An examination of historic voluntary and mandatory household relocations. Natural Hazards. 116, 1973-1993. 
Siebeneck, L. K., Zavar, E., Manandhar, R.  (2022). An Overview of Local Floodplain Administrators in FEMA Region 6. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 19(2), 149-173. 
Zavar, E., Fischer, L.  (2021). Fractured landscapes: The racialization of home buyout programs and climate adaptation. Other. 3, . 
Greer, A., Binder, S. B., Zavar, E.  (2021). From Hazard Mitigation to Climate Adaptation: A Review of Home Buyout Program Literature. Housing Policy Debate. 
Roe, S. M., Zavar, E.  Understanding the Role of Wrongdoing in Technological Disasters: Utilizing ecofeminist philosophy to examine commemoration. Other. 
Zavar, E. M., Schumann, R. L. (2020). Post-disaster communalism: Land use, ownership, and the shifting ‘publicness’ of urban space in recovery. Environmental Hazards. 19(4), 398-416. 
Zavar, E. M., Lavy, B., Hagelman III, R. R. (2020). Chain tourism in post-disaster recovery. Other. 20(4), 429-449. 
Zavar, E., Hann, D. G. (2020). Commemoration through Cookbooks: A Recipe for Post-disaster Recovery. Other. 52(2), 45-59. THE INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR LANDSCAPE, PLACE, & MATERIAL CULTURE. http://www.pioneeramerica.org/materialculturecurrent.html
Zavar, E. M., Nelan, M. M. (2020). Disaster Drills as Experiential Learning Opportunities for Geographic Education. Other. 
Brokopp Binder, S., Greer, A., Zavar, E. M. (2020). Home Buyouts: A Tool for Mitigation or Recovery?. Other. 29(4), 497-510. 
Nelan, M. M., Zavar, E. M., Ray, S.  (2019). Chasing Utopia: Disaster Memorial Volunteers at the Joplin Memorial Race. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 44, 101413. 
Zavar, E. M., Schumann, R. L. (2019). Patterns of Disaster Commemoration in Long-Term Recovery. Geographical Review. 109(2), 157-179. 
Massa, A., Zavar, E. M., Lavy, B., Graves, S.  (2018). Fragmented forest: A case study examining historical land management and current urban forest health. Other. 10, 27-45. 
Zavar, E. M., Hagelman III, R.  (2018). Resilient Landscapes: The Reconstruction of Connecticut Following the 1938 Hurricane.. The Professional Geographer. 70(3), 443-452. 
Zavar, E. M. (2018). An analysis of floodplain buyout memorials: four examples from central U.S. floods of 1993–1998. GeoJournal. 84(1), 157-179. Springer. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10708-018-9855-6
Zavar, E. M., Hagelman, R., Lavy, B., Prince, B.  (2017). Land-Use Change at Temporary Group-Housing Sites in Post-Katrina Louisiana. Natural Hazards Review. 18(3), 04017003. American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(asce)nh.1527-6996.0000243
Zavar, E. M. (2016). The role of magnetic agents in shaping post-disaster land use. Other. 56, 38-46. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.04.037
Zavar, E. M., Hagelman III, R. R. (2016). Land use change on U.S. floodplain buyout sites, 1990-2000. Other. 25(3), 360-374. Emerald. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/dpm-01-2016-0021
Zavar, E., Hagelman, R. R., Rugeley, M. (2015). Site, situation, and property owner decision- making after the 2002 Guadalupe River flood. Other. 35, 249-257. 
Zavar, E. M. (2015). Residential perspectives: the value of Floodplain- buyout open space. Geographical Review. 105(1), 78-95. Wiley-Blackwell. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2014.12047.x
Hagelman, R. R., Connolly, M. H., Zavar, E. M., Dahal, K. R. (2012). Disaster reconstruction and business geography following the 2007 Greensburg, Kansas Tornado. Environmental Hazards. 11(4), 283-302. Informa UK Limited. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17477891.2012.689249
Zatoń, M., Wilson, M. A., Zavar, E. M. (2011). Diverse sclerozoan assemblages encrusting large bivalve shells from the Callovian (Middle Jurassic) of southern Poland. Other. 307(1-4), 232-244. Elsevier BV. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2011.05.022
Magazine/Trade Publication
Zavar, E., Brokopp Binder, S., Greer, A.  (2019). Taking the Long View: Improving Home Buyout Programs Through Community Involvement. https://efficientgov.com/blog/2019/10/21/taking-the-long-view-improving-home-buyout-programs-through-community-involvement/
Zavar, E. M., Greer, A., Brokopp Binder, S.  (2019). After Disaster: Why Home Buyout Programs Fizzle Out. https://efficientgov.com/blog/2019/05/28/after-disaster-why-home-buyout-programs-fizzle-out
Research Report
Zavar, E. M., Lavy, B., Hagelman III, R.  (2019). Recovery of tourism-based economies along Texas Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey. Quick Response Grant Research Report. https://hazards.colorado.edu/quick-response-report/recovery-of-tourism-based-economies-on-the-texas-gulf-coast-after-hurricane-harvey
Scholarly Briefing / Blog
Schumann, R. L., Zavar, E. M. (2022). Commemorating COVID: Opportunities for Community Recovery and Resilience. The Manchester Briefing. https://reliefweb.int/report/world/manchester-briefing-issue-46
Scholarly Note
Schumann, R. L., Zavar, E. M. (2023). More Than Words in Stone: Commemorating Places Reshaped by Disaster. https://hazards.colorado.edu/news/research-counts/more-than-words-in-stone-commemorating-places-reshaped-by-disaster
Zavar, E. M., Brokopp Binder, S., Greer, A.  (2019). Engaging residents and community groups in post-buyout land use. A section for a Manual on the Use of Green Infrastructure in Mitigation. National Institute of Standards and Technology. 



	
		
		
	  

	

	

  
    
	

	

	  

		

		   
Awarded Grants



  
  
  	  
          
Contracts, Grants and Sponsored Research  

 	 
	 	 
  
Fellowship   
Zavar, E., "Gulf Research Program’s Early-Career Research Fellowship," Sponsored by National Academies of Science, National, $76000 Funded. (September 1, 2020 – August 31, 2022).
Grant - Research   
Zavar, E. (Principal), Greer, A. (Co-Principal), Binder, S. (Co-Principal), "Forced relocation after Floods," Sponsored by UNT Research Seed Grant, University of North Texas, $8000 Funded. (August 2020 – July 2021).
Zavar, E. (Principal), Greer, A. (Co-Principal), Binder, S. (Co-Principal), "Exploring the Design and Implementation of Buyout Programs in Post-Disaster," Sponsored by National Science Foundation, Federal, $19975 Funded. (September 2018 – January 2020).
Zavar, E. M. (Principal), Lavy, B. (Co-Principal), Hagelman, R. (Co-Principal), "Recovery of tourism-based economies along the Texas Gulf Coast after Hurricane Harvey," Sponsored by University of Colorado Boulder Quick Response Grant, International, $2000 Funded. (July 2018 – July 2018).
Zavar, E. M., "Greensburg, KS Reconstruction," Sponsored by Southern Connecticut State University, Other, $5000 Funded. (2016 – 2016).
Zavar, E. M., "Dissertation Research Grant," Sponsored by AAG, Other, $500 Funded. (2013 – 2013).



	
		
		
	  

	

	

	
	

  
  
  

  	

		

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Summative Rating		
					Challenge and
Engagement Index		
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out of 5		
					
out of 7		
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 of 
students responded		
					
					
				

			
		


		
    
			
  • Overall Summative Rating (median):
    
			This rating represents the combined responses of students to the four global summative items and is presented to provide an overall index of the class’s quality. Overall summative statements include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 5 = Excellent, 3 = Good, and 1= Very poor):
				
      
					
    • The course as a whole was
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    • The course content was
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    • The instructor’s contribution to the course was
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    • The instructor’s effectiveness in teaching the subject matter was
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  • Challenge and Engagement Index:
    
			This rating combines student responses to several SPOT items relating to how academically challenging students found the course to be and how engaged they were. Challenge and Engagement Index items include the following (response options include a Likert scale ranging from 7 = Much higher, 4 = Average, and 1 = Much lower):
				
      
					
    • Do you expect your grade in this course to be
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    • The intellectual challenge presented was
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    • The amount of effort you put into this course was
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    • The amount of effort to succeed in this course was
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    • Your involvement in course (doing assignments, attending classes, etc.) was
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