SARA ELIZABETH GRINESKI portrait
  • Co-Director, Center for Natural and Technological Hazards, College of Social and Behavioral Science
  • Professor, Sociology Department
801-581-6153

Professional Service

  • US Environmental Protection Agency. Role: Scientific Counselor. Social and Community Science Subcommittee of the Board of Scientific Counselors. 03/2022 - present
  • National Institues of Health, NIEHS\. Role: Study Section Member. Reviewed P30. 10/2021 - present
  • National Institues of Health, NIEHS. Role: Study Section Member. Reviewed P2C. 06/2021 - present
  • American Sociological Association (ASA) . Nominations Committee Member. Section on Environmental Sociology. 01/2021 - 12/2024
  • Peer Reviewer. I peer-reviewed 11 manuscripts. 01/2021 - 12/2021
  • National Institues of Health, NIEHS. Role: Peer Review. I served on a T35 review panel. 11/2020 - 11/2020
  • University of Arizona. Role: External Reviewer of Tenure Packet. Reviewed promotion materials and wrote letter. 09/2020 - 10/2020
  • American Sociological Association. Research and Policy Chair. ASA Section on Environmental Sociology. 01/2020 - present
  • American Sociological Association (ASA). Role: Research and Policy Chair. ASA Section on Environmental Sociology. 01/2020 - 12/2022
  • Peer Reviewer. Role: Peer Review. I reviewed 8 manuscripts in 2020. 01/2020 - 12/2020
  • National Institues of Health, NIEHS. Role: Peer Review. I served on a review panel for R25 proposals to NIEHS. 11/2019 - 11/2019
  • University of Oregon. Role: External Reviewer of Tenure Packet. Reviewed tenure materials and wrote letter. 07/2019 - 07/2019
  • Peer Reviewer. Role: Peer Review. I reviewed 19 manuscripts in 2019, from journals ranging from American Sociological Review, Social Science and Medicine, Journal of Health and Social Behavior, American Journal of Public Health, Urban Affairs, and Environmental Research, among others. 01/2019 - 12/2019
  • UT San Antonio and Ohio State University. Role: Reviewer. Reviewed two "promotion to full professor" cases, one each at UT San Antonio and Ohio State University. 06/04/2018 - 07/31/2018
  • Austrian Science Fund . Role: Peer Reviewer. Reviewed research proposal for the Austrian Science Fund. 04/09/2018 - 05/31/2018
  • National Science Foundation. Role: Peer Reviewer. Reviewed research proposal for Science, Technology and Society Directorate of the US National Science Foundation. 03/05/2018 - 04/16/2018
  • Academic journals (Various). Role: Peer Reviewer. Reviewed manuscripts for Population and Environment (3 papers), Science of the Total Environment (1 paper), Sociological Spectrum (1 paper), Sociology of Education (1 paper), Latinos in Higher Education (1 paper), Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (1 paper), Applied Geography (1 paper), Annals (1 paper), and International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (1 paper). [**Note: I did not complete any peer reviews while on maternity leave in Fall 2018]. 01/01/2018 - 08/17/2018
  • National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Role: Reviewer. Panel Review Member. 11/27/2017 - 11/28/2017
  • International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. Special Collections Editor: Environmental Justice. With J. Chakraborty and T. Collins. 01/01/2017 - present
  • Peer Reviewer. Reviewed manuscripts for Applied Geography (3 papers), Environmental Research (1 paper), Journal of Health and Social Behavior (2 papers), Journal of Public health (1 paper), Population and Environment (1 paper), Population Review (1 paper), Sociological Forum (1 paper), Social Forces (1 paper), and Science of the Total Environment (1 paper). 01/01/2017 - 12/31/2017

Internal Service

  • Wilkes Scholars Program. Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy. Coordinate undergraduate research program. Co-Director., 08/2022 - present. University service.
  • Retention, Promotion and Tenure Committee Committee. Chair, 05/2022 - 05/2023. Department service.
  • Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee. University of Utah. Committee Member, 01/2021 - present. Department service.
  • Chair of Undergraduate Studies. Chair of Undergraduate Studies, 01/2020 - present. Department service.
  • General Education Curriculum Committee. Committee Member, 01/2020 - 05/2023. University service.
  • Center for Natural and Technological Hazards. Co-Director, 10/01/2018 - present. College service.
  • College RPT Committee. Sociology Representative, 08/20/2018 - present. College service.
  • Solutions Scholars Steering and Selection Committee. Member, 01/01/2018 - present. College service.
  • Undergraduate Committee. Member, 01/01/2018 - present. Department service.
  • RPT Committee. Member, 01/01/2018 - present. Department service.
  • Environmental and Sustainability Studies Program. (Attend monthly meetings). Faculty Member, 01/01/2018 - present. College service.
  • Retention, Promotion, and Tenure (RPT) Committee. Faculty Member, 01/01/2018 - present. Department service.

Community Partnership

  • Research Grant. 2021. Community-Based Educational Outreach to Address Air Pollution: A U-Community Partnership for Environmental Justice. Graduate Student Researcher: Casey Mullen, Faculty Research Advisor: Sara E. Grineski. Sustainable Campus Initiative Fund (SCIF) Grant. 06/2021 - 05/2022

Honors & Awards

  • Advancing Equity and Connecting Communities Award. College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Utah., 05/2023
  • Outstanding Undergraduate Student Mentoring Award, College of Social and Behavioral Sciences. Office of Undergraduate Research, University of Utah. , 05/2023

In the Media

  • Invited Gallery Speaker. The Air We Share Event. Utah Museum of Fine Arts. 28 Sept 2022. https://umfa.utah.edu/the-air-we-share . 09/2022.
  • Review of research study. 10/2021. https://eos.org/articles/neighborhoods-are-feeling...
  • Newspaper story about research study. https://www.ksl.com/article/50063705/air-pollution-peaks-linked-to-lower-academic-proficiency-in-salt-lake-county-students 8 December 2020. 12/08/2020.
  • Newspaper story about research study. https://www.sltrib.com/news/environment/2020/12/03/u-researchers-find-peaks/ 3 December 2020. 12/03/2020.
  • Press Release about research study. 23 November 2020. https://attheu.utah.edu/facultystaff/air-pollution-spikes-reduce-test-scores/ . 11/23/2020.
  • Radio interview about research study. 21 May 2020. https://kcpw.org/blog/in-the-hive/2020-05-21/air-quality/. 05/21/2020.
  • Medium article about research study. 20 May 2020. https://onezero.medium.com/minority-students-are-getting-choked-out-by-air-pollution-in-utah-7e7fdf4a4057. 05/20/2020.
  • Radio interview about research study. 19 May 2020. https://www.kuer.org/post/am-news-brief-high-marks-state-credit-rating-unfair-bad-air-wildfire-threatens-homes. 05/19/2020.
  • Local newspaper article about research study. 19 May 2020. https://www.deseret.com/utah/2020/5/19/21263965/study-minority-students-in-salt-lake-county-schools-breathe-dirtier-air. 05/19/2020.
  • Review of research study. 17 June 2019. 06/17/2019. https://earther.gizmodo.com/noise-pollution-could-...
  • Review of research study. 14 June 2019. 06/14/2019. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2206217-ethni...
  • Radio Interview. Environmental injustice at American schools. NPR's Latino USA. Interview recorded April 25, 2018, aired October 1, 2018. 10/01/2018. https://latinousa.org/2018/10/01/ourpollutionourki...
  • Research Featured. Failure at the EPA. Pacific Standard Magazine. 05/15/2018. https://psmag.com/magazine/failure-at-the-epa.
  • America’s toxic schools. Living on Earth with Steve Curwood. (broadcast on 250 public radio stations) . 02/09/2018. http://www.loe.org/shows/shows.html?programID=18-P...
  • Review of research study on Earther: Students of color suffer disproportionately from air pollution. 02/02/2018. https://earther.com/students-of-color-suffer-dispr...
  • Review of research study in the Guardian: Schools across the US exposed to air pollution. 02/01/2018. https://www.theguardian.com/education/2018/feb/01/...
  • Review of research study: Environmental racism and marginalized health in our gaybourhoods. 12/14/2017. https://www.autostraddle.com/you-should-stay-insid...
  • Review of research study on Earther: Do queer people suffer disproportionately from pollution? 10/11/2017. https://earther.com/do-queer-people-suffer-disprop...