Michelle Dovil

Michelle Dovil is currently a professor at Howard University in the Department of Sociology and Criminology. Born and raised in Miami, Florida, she has always had an interest in both the natural and social sciences. She received her baccalaureate degree in sociology, with a minor in women studies from the University of Florida. Go Gators! Dovil later moved to Washington, DC, where she received her master’s degree and a doctorate in sociology from Howard University. 

Although her formal concentrations are in social inequality and criminology, Dovil's personal research interests are in disaster research, gender studies, and environmental inequality. She has worked on several projects both domestically and internationally in places that include Washington, DC; New Orleans, Louisiana; Norman, Oklahoma; Wilmington, North Carolina; and Sendai, Japan. Moreover, these projects have been centered on investigating the impact of climate change on coastal communities; inequalities of disasters; improving risk communication for vulnerable populations; examining the protective action and evacuation responses of disaster victims; as well as many other environmental inequality issues. Dovil has received research awards from both the Department of Homeland Security and the National Science Foundation.