Faculty Spotlight

Dr. Kathleen Schreiber Professor of Geography

Faculty Spotlight

For Dr. Kathleen Schreiber, geography is more than the study of the physical features of the earth or knowing the capital cities of South America.

“Geographic approaches allow us to see and think about the world differently than we might otherwise,” says Dr. Kathleen Schreiber, geography professor at Millersville University. “Geography takes a holistic approach in explaining our world.”

That might mean understanding how the spread of nonnative plants affects the environment or creating an awareness of how climate change will impact the risk of disease in the world.

Schreiber took her first geography class as a freshman and promptly fell in love with the subject.

“I was pretty sure this was going to be a lifelong affair,” recalls Schreiber.

It was indeed. Schreiber went on to receive her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Delaware, as well as her Ph.D. in climatology. Ever since, she has been sharing her love of the world of geography with her students.

Not long ago, Schreiber received a $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study climate change and its impact on the risk of malaria and dengue fever. The study involved examining environmental temperature change and its influences on the transmission and disease risk of these two devastating vector-borne diseases transmitted by mosquitoes.

“Temperature affects the biting rate of mosquitoes and the incubation of parasites,” says Schreiber. “With a higher temperature, for example, malaria incubation in the mosquito does not take as long.”

The focus on these two diseases is expected to provide insights to other diseases such as West Nile and Eastern equine encephalitis. Schreiber’s research focuses on improvement of downscaling technologies that will improve the accuracy of future temperature estimates at the regional-to-local levels for climate impact analysis.

There are many other ways that geography has an impact on our lives. Schreiber has studied the effect of rain events and land use in water-quality variations of headwater streams of the Chesapeake Bay, how humans respond to heat waves, the role of local versus regional pollution sources in visibility impairment in the Grand Canyon National Park and how air pollution impacts the weathering process of marble tombstones.

Very little of her research takes place in the classroom. One of her favorite research haunts has quite literally been the graveyard.

“I earned my master’s degree by hanging out in old graveyards.”

“I traveled to 133 cemeteries in central and western Pennsylvania to study the rates of marble tombstone weathering,” says Schreiber. “My master’s thesis showed that rural cemeteries far from pollution sources are relatively intact. Cemeteries in highly urban areas, or close to even one short factory smokestack, were much more weathered. If pollution does that to rock, imagine what it’s doing to our bodies.”

Schreiber feels privileged to be able to help students reach meaningful educational and career-related goals.

“Most geography majors are outdoorsy types and couldn’t see themselves working in an office all day,” acknowledges Schreiber, noting her students spend time surveying campus microclimates, community streams and Lancaster County forest communities.

From climate change to the spread of non-native species, to upcoming freshwater shortages, to the transition away from fossil fuels, our global society is immensely affected by its geography. She believes that by examining the details, the bigger picture becomes clearer.

“There’s never a dull moment in this discipline, with world views and technology constantly changing,” says Schreiber.