Jennifer E. Coffman

Associate Executive Director
Associate Professor of Integrated Science and Technology

Ph.D., Anthropology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., Anthropology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., Honors, Cultural Anthropology and Political Science, Duke University

 

As Associate Executive Director for the oIP, Jennifer focuses on internationalizing JMU curricula; grant-writing, outreach, and research project leadership; scholarship and faculty support to elevate the academic profile of oIP; and designing and implementing environmentally sound practices at OIP and in OIP programs.  She established and directs JMU’s Field School in Kenya, an intensive summer semester program for undergraduate and graduate students to learn about contemporaryKenya, as well as its histories.

Her research focuses on environment and development from a political ecology perspective.  She has studied land and wildlife resource management and sociocultural change among Maasai in Kajiado District, Kenya; participatory development and ethnic politicking in rural and urban Kenya; local land and food production issues in the Shenandoah Valley; and other, related topics.  She continues to present and publish on these topics, as well as serves as PI or CoPI on grants related to her research.