Katherine McComas
Vice Provost for Engagement and Land-Grant Affairs, Office of the Provost
Professor, Department of Communication
Katherine is a risk communication scholar whose research and teaching focus on understanding motivations and barriers surrounding communication about scientific, technological, and environmental risk issues. Such communication takes place in many venues -- from the front page of the New York Times to the website of the CDC, to the local public meeting, to the doctor's office, to the visitors' center in our national parks. Her current research examines ways to develop risk messages that encourage greater awareness of the linkages between human, animal, and environmental health and well-being ("One Health"). Current research also focuses on public acceptability of risk in the context of new and renewable energy technologies. Her long-standing commitment to working closely with community partners in both her research and teaching programs paved a pathway to her current role as Cornell University’s Vice Provost for Engagement and Land-Grant Affairs. In this position, she helps steward the university’s public engagement mission.
Education
- Doctorate, Communication, Cornell University
- Master of Arts, International Relations/International Communications, Boston University
- Bachelor of Arts, French, University of Missouri
- Bachelor of Journalism, Advertising, University of Missouri
Contact Information
461 Mann Library Building
Ithaca, NY 14853
kam19 [at] cornell.edu
Additional Links
Selected Publications
- Balog-Way, D., McComas, K., Leong, A., Brown, D., & Schuler, K. (2023). Towards an evidence-informed strategy for communicating lead ammunition risks. Wildlife Society Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.1445
- Leong, A., McComas, K., Balog-Way, D., & Schuler, K. (2023). Expanding on Behavioral Intentions in the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model: Socio-cognitive factors predicting information seeking, sharing, and discussion of lead ammunition. Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470231165489
- Holley, J.R., McComas, K.A., Lambert, C.E., Snider, N.P. & Tucker, G.K. (2022). Responding to flood risk in Louisiana: The roles of place attachment, emotions, and location. Natural Hazards.https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-022-05316-9
- Lambert, C. E., Holley, J. R., McComas, K. A., Snider, N. P., & Tucker, G. K. (2021). Eroding land and erasing place: A qualitative study of place attachment, risk perception, and coastal land loss in southern Louisiana. Sustainability, 13(11), 6269. DOI: 10.3390/su13116269
- Schuldt, J.P, McComas, K., & Burge, C. (2021) Intersecting frames in communicating risk and uncertainty. Journal of Risk Research 24, 562-573. DOI: 10.1080/13669877.2017.1382559
- Lu, H., Song, H., & McComas, K. A. Seeking information about enhanced geothermal systems: The role of fairness, uncertainty, systematic processing, and information engagement intentions. Renewable Energy.
- Siemer, W. F., Lauber, T. B., Schuler, K., Verant, M., Herzog, C. J., & McComas, K. A. (2020). Predictors of intentions to conserve bats among New York property owners. Human Dimensions of Wildlife.
- Lu, H., McComas, K. A., Kretser, H., & Lauber, T. B. (2020). Scared yet compassionate? Exploring the order effects of threat versus suffering messages on attitude toward scary victims. Science Communication. 42:3-30.
- Balog-Way, D., McComas, K. A., & Besley, J. (2020). The evolving field of risk communication. Risk Analysis: an International Journal.
- Song, H., Lu, H., & McComas, K. A. (2020). The role of fairness in early characterization of new technologies: Effects on selective exposure and risk perception. Risk Analysis: an International Journal.
- Balog-Way, D., & McComas, K. A. (2020). COVID-19: Reflections on trust, tradeoffs, and preparedness. Journal of Risk Research.
- McComas, K. (2023, May). The role of risk communication in meeting global energy needs: Keeping cooler heads as the conversation heats up. Keynote presented at the SRA-Europe Annual Meeting, Lund, Sweden.
- McComas, K. (2022, October). Influencing human behavior towards bears through risk communication. Featured presentation at the 6th International Human Bear Conflict Workshop, Lake Tahoe, NV.
- McComas, K., Cousse, J., Balog-Way, D., Lambert, C., & Trutnevyte, E. (2022, December). Repurposing “dirty technologies” for “clean” energy development: The case of enhanced geothermal systems. Paper presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.
- Cousse, J., McComas, K. Balog-Way, D., Lambert, C., & Trutnevyte, E. (2022, December). How do beliefs about tampering with nature influence perceptions of enhanced geothermal systems in Switzerland and the United States? Paper presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.
- Leong, A., McComas, K., & Balog-Way, D. (2022, December). Exploring the role of social norms on information, seeking, sharing, and discussion. Poster presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.
- Cousse, J., McComas, K., Lambert, C. Balog-Way, D., Y Trutnevyte, E. (2022, June). Tell me how you feel about Enhanced Geothermal Systems and why: A cross-national study. Paper presented at the Third International Conference on Energy Research and Social Science. Manchester, UK.
- Holley, J., Lambert, C., McComas, K., Snider, N., & Tucker, G., (2020, December). Place attachment and affect: The case of flood risk in Louisiana. Paper presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting. (online only)
- Lambert, C., Holley, J., McComas, K., Snider, N., & Tucker, G., (2020, December). “It’s bigger than us”: Feelings of inevitable risk associated with coastal land loss in southern Louisiana. Paper presented at the Society for Risk Analysis Annual Meeting. (online only)
- Lu, H, Song, H, & McComas, KA. (2020, August). Seeking information about an emerging technology: Fairness, uncertainty, systematic processing, and information engagement intentions. Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual meeting. Top four faculty paper award. (online only)
- Excellence in Risk Communication Research and Practice, Society for Risk Analysis Risk Communication Specialty Group, 2022
- President, Society for Risk Analysis, 2018-2019
- SUNY Chancellors Award for Excellence in Faculty Service, 2017
- Elected Fellow, Society for Risk Analysis, 2014
Katherine in the news
News
News
Deer hunters were more likely to be swayed by social media messages about the potential risks of chronic wasting disease if they came from a source they believed aligned with their own views and values.
- Communication
- Animals
- Natural Resources and the Environment