Dr. Sarah Surak, Professor Emerita of the Political Science and Environmental Studies Departments, has a B.A. in political science and a Master of Public Administration (MPA) from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and a Ph.D. in Planning, Governance, and Globalization from Virginia Tech. Before completing her Ph.D. and joining Salisbury University, she worked for five years in the Facilities Services Department at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville as Recycling Coordinator, and later as Sustainability Manager, and finally as a Sustainability and Public Relations Manager. This background inspires her research focus on the politics of waste, and the economic, political, and social structures that create barriers and opportunities for sustainable waste management practices.
Dr. Surak joined SU’s faculty in 2012 in a split position, holding an appointment in both the Political Science and Environmental Studies Departments. She taught, and continues to teach, classes in environmental policy, public administration, political theory, democratic theory, discard studies, and environmental studies. Dr. Surak regularly embedded civic engagement activities in her courses, and over the years, her classes supported community environmental efforts across the Delmarva Peninsula. She won several awards from the Fulton School of Liberal Arts, including the Award for Teaching Excellence, the Award for Excellence in Supporting Study Abroad Programming, and the Award for Outstanding Faculty Contribution.
From 2015 to 2020, Dr. Surak co-directed the Institute for Public Affairs and Civic Engagement, where she currently serves as a Senior Fellow. She has published widely on the topic of civic education and co-developed the faculty professional development seminar Civic Engagement Across the Curriculum, which is now available across the University of Maryland System (USM), supported by her receipt (with co-collaborator Dr. Sandy Pope) of USM’s Wilson H. Elkins Professorship (2018).
Dr. Surak visits Salisbury University frequently and currently lives in Hamburg, Germany. She can be reached at smsurak@salisbury.edu.