This is part of a series of Q&As introducing faculty who have joined the College of Health Sciences for the 2024–25 academic year. Meet all of our new faculty members.

Jennifer First

Assistant professor, School of Social Work

Tell us about yourself. What is your background?

I am a proud graduate of the University of Missouri’s School of Social Work. I obtained my MSW from Mizzou in 2012 and my PhD in 2019. Over the past four years, I have worked as an assistant professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee. My research focuses on addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change and disasters on historically marginalized communities.

What brought you to Mizzou? To your field?

I was hired through the Mizzou Forward Program. I’m using this first year to continue the research I am conducting in Tennessee and the Southeast while also growing my collaborations and work in the Midwest and Missouri.

What is your favorite thing about your job?

I love engaging in collaborative and community-driven research that integrates physical, natural, and social sciences with community stakeholder engagement.

What is a fun hobby or activity that you enjoy outside of work?

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband and son and biking on the MKT trail. 

What is a particularly memorable moment from your time teaching?

One of my favorite classes to teach is Macro Social Work, which is all about working with communities, organizations and policymakers to address large-scale social problems and systemic issues. I love seeing my students’ passion for creating meaningful change.

A memorable moment was working with students on a project to understand how urban heat islands and extreme heat impact neighborhoods in our community (see a photo below). We used temperature and humidity sensors attached to cars to collect thousands of data points across an entire urban area — along with community members’ experiences of extreme heat and health — to make system changes at a local level.