Dr. David R. Perkins

Department

Schl of Earth Enviro and Sustain
Role: Faculty
Campus: Springfield

Postal mail

Missouri State University
Schl of Earth Enviro and Sustain
901 S. National Ave.
Springfield, MO 65897

Biography

Dr. David R. Perkins IV is associate professor and sustainability programs director in the School of Earth, Environment and Sustainability at Missouri State University. His research and outreach foci include sustainable tourism to promote community development, tourism climatology and human-weather interactions in business strategy contexts. 

Perkins leads curriculum development, teaching and student advising at Missouri State in sustainability curricula: sustainability minor, minor in sustainable tourism development, sustainability graduate certificate and a major in geography and sustainability (focus in sustainable development).

His most recent outreach projects include collaborations with community leaders to create sustainable community development goals for the Ozarks region and developing participatory engagement strategies for sustainable tourism development in rural coastal communities in Jamaica. Perkins is published in a variety of interdisciplinary academic journals, such as International Journal of Biometeorology, Weather Climate & Society, Atmosphere, Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, Physical Geography, International Journal of Cardiology and forthcoming in Governance for Sustainable Development Review. He has formally presented academic research at more than 30 conferences throughout the United States, and internationally in Sweden, Cuba, New Zealand and Canada.

Details

Education

  • PhD, Geography, University of North Carolina Greensboro
  • MA, Geography, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
  • BSBA, Kenan Flagler Business School

Teaching

  • GRY 100 World Regional Geography
  • GRY 108 Principles of Sustainability
  • GRY 142 Introductory Physical Geography
  • GRY 300 Geography of the United States
  • GRY 310 Fundamentals of Tourism
  • GRY 321 Economic Geography
  • GRY 410 Geography of World Tourism
  • GRY 510/610 Applications in Sustainable Geotourism
  • GRY 708 The Philosophy of Sustainability

Professional experience

Affiliations:

  • American Meteorological Society
  • Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education
  • Association of American Geographers
  • Association of Zoos and Aquariums
  • International Society of Biometeorology

Research and professional interests

  • Tourism geography
  • Sustainable development
  • Biometeorology
  • Economic geography
  • Weather, climate and society

Selected publications:

  • Perkins IV, D.R. (2022). Leveraging principles of economic geography and tourism climatology for sustainable tourism development in Egypt’s New Administrative Capital. Governance for Sustainable Development Review.
  • Perkins, D. (2021). Thermal Environments and Visitor Attendance in Zoological Parks: Observations in A Humid Continental Climate. Journal of Tourismology, 7(2), 195-225.
  • Rutty, M., Steiger, R., Demiroglu, O. C., & Perkins, D. R. (2021). Tourism climatology: past, present, and future. International journal of biometeorology, 65(5), 639-643.

Awards and honors

  • CNAS Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Missouri State University, 2020
  • Diversity Scholar, Missouri State University, 2018
  • Co-chair for the International Society of Biometeorology’s Commission on Climate, Tourism and Recreation
  • Academic affiliate for Center for Responsible Travel (CREST)
  • Certificate in Sustainable Tourism, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

Areas of Expertise

Sustainability Science Tourism and travel