Rate My Professor Laura Siebeneck

Laura Siebeneck is Department Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science at the University of North Texas, within the College of Public Affairs and Health Sciences. A geographer by training, she holds a PhD in Geography from the University of Utah (2010), an MS in Geography from the University of Utah (2007), and a BS in Physical Geography from Texas State University (2005). With over 13 years at UNT, she previously served as director of both undergraduate and graduate programs in the department before assuming the chair position on September 1, 2023. Her research specializations encompass hazards, evacuation and return-entry processes, disaster displacement, risk perception and risk communication, emergency management, natural hazards, recovery, and Geographic Information Science (GIS) and spatial analysis. She has contributed to multi-institutional projects, including National Science Foundation-funded research examining disaster return-entry, recovery, and resilience following Hurricane Sandy, as part of a $2.5 million grant awarded in 2017.

Siebeneck's scholarship appears in leading journals such as Risk Analysis, Natural Hazards, Natural Hazards Review, International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, GeoJournal, Journal of Emergency Management, International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, and Sustainability. Key publications include 'Returning Home After Superstorm Sandy: Phases in the Return-Entry Process' (Natural Hazards, 2020), 'Household Evacuation Decision Making During Simultaneous Events: Hurricane Ida and the COVID-19 Pandemic' (International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 2024), 'Seven Challenges for Risk Communication in Today’s Digital Era: The Emergency Manager’s Perspective' (Sustainability, 2024), 'Utilizing Qualitative Data for Social Network Analysis in Disaster Research' (Disasters, 2023), and 'Toward Simulating Dire Wildfire Scenarios' (Natural Hazards Review, 2021). She teaches courses including Hazard Mitigation and Preparedness, Capstone in Emergency Management, Images of Disaster in Film and Media, International Disasters, and Introduction to Emergency Management. In recognition of departmental achievements, she received the 2025 Institutional Effectiveness Award.