Dr. Alyssa L. Provencio (you can call her Dr. P) is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science and faculty in the Master of Public Administration program at the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO). Provencio's teaching and research interests include issues of gender, race, vulnerability, representative bureaucracy, consensus building, and community empowerment in emergency and disaster management.

 

At UCO, she also serves as the Academic Affairs Equity Advocate, is the Director of the Leadership Minor for the College of Liberal Arts, and Coordinates the Disaster Management Certificate. She was elected Faculty Senate President for the 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 terms.

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Professionally, she has worked for a number of non-profit organizations, including the Clinton Foundation, and attributes her passion for emergency management to the time she spent in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. 

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Dr. Provencio’s hometown is Derby, Kansas and she is a graduate of Oklahoma State University, University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, and Kansas State University.

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In her free time, Provencio enjoys swimming, cycling, running, scuba diving, baking, and exploring the outdoors. She lives in rural Oklahoma with her better half, Tom, their cat, Lou, and dog, Biggs.