Jen Schneider is Associate Professor in the School of Public Service at Boise State University, where she is also the Director of the PhD in Public Policy and Administration. She also co-directs the Boise State site of the Idaho EPSCoR project, and is affiliate faculty in the Public Policy Research Center and the College of Innovation and Design, where she works on interdisciplinary research teams. Jen’s research addresses challenges in the public communication of scientific and environmental controversies, with a particular focus on industry rhetoric and discourses of technical expertise. Recent projects include a co-authored book on the rhetoric of the American coal industry (Palgrave Macmillan, 2016); work addressing hydrofracturing and public controversy; and nuclear power, climate change, and public engagement. Another co-authored book, The Joy of Science, examines the work-life balance challenges facing scientists and engineers (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

Jen is an associate professor in Liberal Arts and International Studies at the Colorado School of Mines. Beginning in Fall 2014, she will be Associate Professor of Public Policy and Administration at Boise State University. Her current work examines the communication practices of energy industry and environmentalist advocacy campaigns, with a special focus on coal and American politics and policy, hydrofracturing, and nuclear power. Jen teaches courses such as Nuclear Power and Public Policy, Media and the Environment, Advanced Science Communication, Energy and Society, and Film Studies, and is also an instructor in the McBride Honors Program in Public Affairs. Jen is the advisor for the graduate minor in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Policy (STEP) and has served as PI or co-PI on over 5 million dollars in funded research. Most importantly, Jen is a mom to two precocious, outrageous little girls, a drooling great dane, and an overly-attached chihuahua.