ISU Lecture Series: Climate and Health Across Rural America

Monday, Sep 29, 2025

7:30 pm

Sun Room, Memorial Union

Speaker: Lori Hunter

Description: George M. Beal Distinguished Lectureship in Rural Sociology

Dr. Lori Hunter is Director of the Institute of Behavioral Science and Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. With over 30 years in the academy, Dr. Hunter has substantial experience in research leadership, interdisciplinary collaboration, and student training and mentoring. Dr. Hunter’s research focuses on interactions between local environments and demographic outcomes such as human migration, aging, and health. Her recent research on small towns across the U.S. has identified several patterns of change and linked these to the prospects of rural young people as they move through life, emphasizing the impact of such

changes on community and individual well-being. Dr. Hunter has published over 80 peer-reviewed manuscripts and many book chapters on these topics. She has offered commentary for the UN as the organization worked to integrate population issues into the Sustainable Development Agenda. She’s also consulted with the World Bank on migration, climate and gender, and her recent research on these topics has appeared in many top tier journals.