Distinguished in Teaching: Dr. Andrew Joyner
As early as third grade, Dr. Andrew Joyner had a keen interest in maps.
During his sophomore year at Louisiana State University, the devastating Hurricane
Katrina slammed into the Deep South.
“Taking the desire to map things tied with disasters and vulnerability really brought
it all together for me,” he said.
Joyner is Tennessee’s official climatologist and an associate professor in the Department
of Geosciences, where he employs his expertise in maps, disasters and much more. Because
of the work of Joyner and his team, ETSU is playing an outsized role in climate research.
For these and other efforts, he is the winner of the university’s Distinguished Faculty Award in Service, one of the most prestigious honors available to faculty at ETSU.
For Joyner and the climate office, the list of resources they offer – as well as accolades
earned – is striking.
Earlier this year, the climate office, housed on ETSU’s main campus, became one of
only nine such sites in the nation selected for a pilot funding proposal aimed at
helping communities better understand and utilize climate data and resources to address
long-term extreme weather vulnerabilities.
It’s an impressive honor that means officials at ETSU will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the state emergency management agency and other organizations to develop a Community
Resilience Academy focused chiefly on flooding and extreme temperatures.
During the first year, Joyner and his team will develop an academy in Johnson City/Washington
County that will contribute to an update of the local hazard mitigation plan. In the
second year, Joyner and state officials will replicate efforts in Nashville.
Joyner and the climate office also do considerable behind-the-scenes work to better
educate and inform the community.
They offer seasonal outlooks for much of southern Appalachia. They detail what the results of extreme weather will look like in the region. They offer essential insights that inform mitigation plans for the Volunteer State. And they provide weekly input on statewide drought conditions
to the US Drought Monitor.
Joyner, who earned a Ph.D. from LSU in 2013, landed a full-time job at ETSU the same
year. He advises students, directs the Geoinformatics & Disaster Science Lab and he
sits on a range of committees across the university, including those centered around
development of curriculum and programs in climate and health.
His students have done tremendous community service, including work with Steele Creek Park in Bristol and a resources hub site for Unity Housing in Johnson City.
“On a personal level, this is my community, too,” he said. “Being able to do something
like this resilience academy, for example, and being the first in the state to do
that, is really special to me.”
Watch a video featuring Dr. Joyner
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East Tennessee State University was founded in 1911 with a singular mission: to improve the quality of life for people in the region and beyond. Through its world-class health sciences programs and interprofessional approach to health care education, ETSU is a highly respected leader in rural health research and practices. The university also boasts nationally ranked programs in the arts, technology, computing, and media studies. ETSU serves approximately 14,000 students each year and is ranked among the top 10 percent of colleges in the nation for students graduating with the least amount of debt.
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