WeAreCottey

Dr. Paul's field area in the Eastern Ghats Dr. Diya Paul, visiting assistant professor of environmental studies, joined the Cottey College faculty in fall of 2018. An expert on political ecology and land use science, Dr. Paul is teaching introductory and advanced courses in environmental studies. She is also program coordinator of the environmental studies program. Her experience goes far beyond the simple label of environmental studies, however, with an interdisciplinary background that encompasses economics, geography, social work, physical sciences and more. In fact, Dr. Paul’s first career was in social work, focusing on the intersection of people and the environment. After earning a master’s in social work from the Delhi School of Social Work, she spent eight years working in the development and non-governmental organization sector in India. This work brought Dr. Paul face-to-face with the way that human and wildlife communities interact and overlap and the impact of...

Meagan Duffee-Yates ’07 , a private land conservationist for Barton and Jasper counties with the Missouri Department of Conservation, answered the call when the wildfires began in California and Oregon. Her answer was, “Yes!” “I got the call to go out to Oregon in mid-July,” said Duffee-Yates. “At the beginning of fire season, which is late May-November, we provide to our employer dates that we are available to be gone for up to 21 days. Since this is through my employer [Department of Conservation] they are very understanding and very supportive.” What made her say yes to the opportunity to go fight wildfires? “I knew that I would be gaining experience by going to a different state and being involved with large scale wildfires,” Duffee-Yates explained. “With my job we are asked to help fight local wildfire but our environment is much different than out west. Being able to go fight fires in a different environment, with different weather patterns, different habitat and through a ...

Dr. Amber Morczek is one of the newest faculty members to join Cottey College. With her background in criminology and her expertise in gender-based violence, Professor Morczek was the perfect candidate to assist in building Cottey’s expanded offerings in Criminology (available as both a major and minor). Professor Morczek joined the faculty in fall of 2018. Her first semester at Cottey kept her busy as program coordinator for the new and developing program, planning new courses, writing class descriptions, and more. She also taught three essential introductory courses: The Criminal Justice System, Criminology, and Violence Against Women. Despite the challenging subject matter, Professor Morczek says that Violence Against Women is one of her favorite classes to teach; she’s now taught it nine times at a few different institutions. “While we discuss and confront difficult topics every day, it’s especially impactful for students,” she says. The class explores topics such as pat...