Claire Connolly Knox

Claire Connolly Knox is a Professor and Founding Director of the Master in Emergency and Crisis Management Program at the University of Central Florida's School of Public Administration, within the College of Community Innovation and Education. Her office is located in DPAC, Room 448K, and she can be contacted via email at claire.knox@ucf.edu or phone at 407-823-0153. Dr. Knox specializes in environmental vulnerability, disaster response, coastal zone policy, and critical theory applications in public administration.

Her research examines environmental and emergency management policies through discursive analysis, focusing on language's role in policy contradictions. She investigates community-centered resilience, social equity in crisis management, cultural competency, and the intersection of public health with emergency planning. Recent work emphasizes green infrastructure, evacuation barriers, and equitable information access during disasters.

Dr. Knox's publications focus on disaster equity, bureaucratic legitimacy, and crisis communication, with recurring themes of vulnerability analysis, policy implementation gaps, and community resilience strategies. Her methodological approaches include case studies, participatory research, and critical discourse analysis.

Awards and Honors:

• 2021 ASPA Book of the Year Award
• 2022 FEMA Innovation Award & UCF Research Incentive Award
• 2021 UCF Scroll & Quill Society Induction
• 2018 UCF Professional Service Excellence Award
• 2016 Triple UCF Award (Research, Teaching, Scholarship)
• ASPA William J. Petak Best Paper Award
• 2015 Gary Arnold Award for Florida EM Leadership

She has secured $5 million in grants, including NSF-funded projects on hurricane evacuation behavior and Florida's State Evacuation Plan updates. As program coordinator, she oversees academic curricula and advises graduate students in emergency management.

Dr. Knox holds editorial roles at Public Administration Review, Natural Hazards Review, and other journals. She chairs ASPA's Emergency Management Section and collaborates with FEMA, DHS, and environmental nonprofits on resilience initiatives.