Theresa SelfaProfessor and Associate Chair

211C Marshall Hall
1 Forestry Drive
Syracuse, NY 13210

315-470-6570 | 315-470-6636
tselfa@esf.edu

Education

Cornell University, Development Sociology, PhD   

UC Berkeley, City and Regional Planning, MCP

Whitman College, English Literature BA 

Research Interests

Social Dimensions of Food-Energy-Water Systems

Politics of Agrifood Systems and Agricultural Biotechnology

Environmental Governance

Sustainability Certification and Labelling

US and Latin America

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Courses Taught

Undergraduate: Environment and Society; Social Processes and the Environment

Graduate: Environment and Social Theory; Qualitative Research Methods

Current and Recently Completed Research Projects

Current

Restoration Science Center, SUNY ESF Discovery Grant, 2019-2022. 

Identifying Gaps in Public Trust and Governance Recommendations for Gene Edited Foods. USDA NIFA, Social Implications of Emerging Technologies. June 2018-May 2020.

Experimental Frameworks for Evaluating Net Effects of Hydrologic Service Payments on Coupled Social-Ecohydrological Systems in Mexico. NSF CNH.  Jan. 2014-Sept. 2019. 

 

Recently Completed

The Role of Citizen Science in Watershed Hydrology Research: Relationships between Volunteer Motivations, Data Quantity and Quality, and Decision-Making.    NSF CBET  EAGER. Jan. 2017- Dec. 2018.  

Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, and Forest-Related Bioenergy Development across the Americas.  NSF PIRE. Oct. 2012-Sept. 2018. 

Lake Ontario Basin Agriculture in the Coming Decades: Room for expansion or imminent future regional water conflict? USDA AFRI Water for Agriculture Challenge Grant.  May 2015-Dec. 2017.

Northeast Woody Warm Season Biomass Consortium Energy and Biofuels production for Distributed Generation. USDA CAP. Aug. 2012-July 2017.

 

Recent Publications

Google Scholar Citations

Eaton, W., M. Burnham, K. Running, C. Clare Hinrichs, and T. Selfa.  2019. "Symbolic meanings, landowner support, and dedicated bioenergy crops in the rural northeastern United States." Energy Research and Social Science 52: 247-257.

Jones, K., S. Avila, E. Pischke, J. Salcone, D. Torrez, T. Selfa, and K. Halvorsen. 2019. “Examining Participation and Human Well-being Outcomes of Payments for Hydrological Services Programs in Mexico.” Ecolystem Services Vol. 35: 32-42.

Nava-Lopez, M.*, T. Selfa, D. Cordoba, E. Pischke, D. Torrez, S. Ávila-Foucat, K. Halvorsen, and C. Maganda. 2018. “Decentralizing Payments for Watershed Services programs in Veracruz, Mexico: Challenges and Implications for Long Term Sustainability.”  Society and Natural Resources. Published online 4 June 2018.

Eaton, W., M. Burnham, C. Clare Hinrichs, T. Selfa, and S. Yang.  2018. “How do socio-cultural factors shape landowner support for local bioenergy crop production and willingness to grow perennial bioenergy crops in mixed-use landscapes.”  Landscape and Urban Planning  175: 195-204.  

Abrams, J., E. Nielsen, D. Diaz, T. Selfa, E. Adams, J. Dunn, and C. Moseley. 2018. “Why do states embrace non-state forest governance models? Evidence from sustainability certification in the US and Argentina.”  Global Environmental Politics 18(3): 66-85. 

Cordoba, D., T. Selfa, J. Abrams and D. Sombra. 2018. “Family Farming, Agribusiness and the State: Building consent around oil palm expansion in post-neoliberal Brazil.”   Journal of Rural Studies 57: 147-156.

Cordoba, D., M. Chiappe, J. Abrams and T. Selfa. 2018. “Making Biodiesel Fair? Progressive Extractivism and Biofuel Production in Latin America’s Southern Cone.”  Development and Change 49 (1): 63-88.  

O’Connor-Robinson, M., T. Selfa and P. Hirsch. 2017. “Navigating the complex trade-offs of pesticide use on Santa Cruz Island, Galapagos.”  Society and Natural Resources Vol. 31 (2).  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2017.1382625

Bain, C. and T. Selfa. 2017. “Non-GMOs vs. Organic Labels: Purity or Process Guarantees in a GMO Contaminated Landscape.”Agriculture and Human Values Vol. 34(4): 805-818.   

Bain, C., T. Selfa, T. Dandachi, and S. Velardi. 2017. “Superweeds or Survivors? Framing the Problem of Glyphosate Resistant Weeds and Genetically Engineered Crops.”  Journal of Rural Studies 51: 211-221.

Eaton, W., M. Burnham, C. Hinrichs and T. Selfa. 2017. “Bioenergy Experts and Their Imagined Publics: Implications for Public Engagement and Participation.” Energy Research and Social Science, 25: 65–75

Burnham, M., W. Eaton, T. Selfa, C. Hinrichs, and A.  Parker. 2017. “The politics of imaginaries and bioenergy sub-niches in the emerging northeast U.S. bioenergy economy.”  Geoforum 82: 66-76.

Takahashi, B., M. Burnham, C. Terracina, A. Sopchak, and T. Selfa.  2016. “Climate change perceptions of NY State farmers:  The role of risk perceptions and adaptive capacity.” Journal of Environmental management 58(6): 946-957.

Kulcsar, L, T. Selfa,  & C. Bain. 2016. “Privileged access and rural vulnerabilities: Examining social and environmental exploitation in bioenergy development in the American Midwest.” Journal of Rural Studies 47: 291-299.

Asbjornsen, H.,  A. Mayer, K. Jones, T. Selfa, R. Kolka, L. Saenz, K.  Halvorsen.  2015.  “Assessing Impacts of Payments for Watershed Services on Sustainability in Coupled Natural Human Systems.” Bioscience 65 (6): 579-592.

Selfa, T., C. Bain, R. Moreno*, A. Eastmond, S. Sweitz, C. Bailey, T. Martins*, G. Simas Pereira*, R. Medeiros. 2015. “Interrogating Social Sustainability in the Biofuels Sector in Latin America: Tensions between Global Standards and Local Experiences in Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.” Environmental Management 56 (6): 1315-1329.

Feldpausch-Parker, A., M. Burnham, M. Melnik*, M. Callaghan*, and T. Selfa. 2015. “News Media Analysis of CCS and Biomass: Perceptions and Possibilities."  Invited for Special Issue on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Bio-Energy vs. Fossil Fuels. Energies Vol. 8: 3058-74.

Selfa, T., A. Iaroi*, and M. Burnham. 2015.  Promoting Ethanol in Rural Kansas: Cultural Politics and Local Framings. Journal of Rural Studies 39: 63-73.

Selfa, T., C. Bain and R. Moreno*. 2014. “Depoliticizing Land and Water ‘Grabs’ in Colombia: The Limits of Bonsucro Certification for Enhancing Sustainable Biofuel Practices.” Special Issue on The Paradoxes of Multi Stakeholder Initiatives in the Age of Global Agri-food Governance. Agriculture and Human Values 31(3): 455-468.

Takahashi, B.* and T. Selfa. 2014. “Pro-Environmental Behavior in Rural Agricultural Communities: Examining the roles of environmental attitudes, community satisfaction, and community attachment.”   Environment and Behavior 47(8): 856-876.

Bain, C. and T. Selfa. 2013. “Framing and Reframing the Environmental Risks and Economic Benefits of Ethanol Production in Iowa.” Agriculture and Human Values 30 (3): 351-364

White, S.  and T. Selfa. 2013. “Shifting Lands: Exploring Kansas Farmer Decision-Making in an Era of Climate Change and Biofuels Production.” Journal of Environmental Management 51(2): 379-391.

Professional Memberships

 

• Agriculture, Food and Human Values Society
• International Association for Society and Natural Resources
• Rural Sociological Society
• Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences
• Association of American Geographers

Journal Editorships

Associate Editor, Rural Sociology

Associate Editor, Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems