Discovering geography with Adam Dohrenwend

Dr. Adam Dohrenwend, one of JMU’s newest Geography faculty members, brings a global perspective to the classroom, shaped by travels to 45 states and 55 countries. A native of upstate New York, Dohrenwend’s passion for geography began with a general education course, The Developing World, at SUNY Geneseo—a class that sparked a career exploring the relationships between people, power, and place.

“I liked maps, but I never knew there was a whole academic field of inquiry surrounding it,” Dohrenwend recalls. Initially a political science major, he declared geography as a second major, soon making it his primary focus.

Encouraged by a geography professor who took him “under his wing,” Dohrenwend immersed himself in the field, becoming a teaching assistant for The Developing World—the course that first inspired him. This experience solidified his love for teaching and set him on a path to earn a master’s and a doctorate in geography. He gained fourteen semesters of teaching experience at the University of Kansas and Louisiana State University.

Dohrenwend’s research focuses on electoral politics, environmental justice, and labor, particularly within communities dominated by industry. In Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley,” he studied the social and environmental drivers and impacts of industrial pollution, exploring how fenceline communities and workers navigate and challenge landscapes of state-corporate power. Now, he plans to extend this work to Appalachia. “Appalachia is quite similar to the areas I studied in Louisiana,” he explains. “When industries shift, they pack up and leave people with a devastated social and environmental landscape. I’d love to do comparative work on how these communities are affected.”

As part of his commitment to JMU’s educational mission, Dohrenwend serves on the General Education Council, helping shape a new vision for the Gen Ed program. He hopes to inspire students to see geography as a powerful framework for understanding complex social, political, and environmental dynamics. He’s also working to develop new courses, such as Geography of Appalachia, to connect his research to local communities. “Geography helps us see that the issues facing one area are often shared across places and communities,” he says. “It’s a framework that illuminates how things connect across time and space.”

Beyond his academic pursuits, Dohrenwend enjoys hobbies that reflect his love of history and culture. An avid collector and antique enthusiast, he also explores local farmers markets, reads voraciously, and travels widely. As he settles into his role at JMU, Dohrenwend is eager to connect with students and help them see geography not only as a discipline but as a lens for understanding the world.