Jennifer Jo Thompson

Senior Research Scientist

Areas of expertise

Sustainable Agricultural DevelopmentFood Sciences not elsewhere classifiedSocial and Cultural AnthropologyPublic Health and Health ServicesEnvironmental SciencesRural Sociology

About

As a sociocultural anthropologist in UGA’s Dept of Crop & Soil Sciences, my research examines the impact of local agricultural and environmental initiatives on health, education, and social justice. I have several ethnographic projects that focus on Farm-to-School initiatives, including studies of the impact of school gardens on students’ food literacy and their civic engagement with food insecurity in their communities, and studies of the opportunities and challenges facing efforts to get local foods into school lunches. I am interested in the relationship between public policy, risk perception, and on-the-ground implementation of these initiatives, and their impact on public engagement with science.

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Anthropology, General

University of Arizona The, AZ, United States (2010)

Master of Arts, Anthropology, Other

Indiana University Bloomington, IN, United States (2000)

Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology, General

University Of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI, United States (1996)

Awards and Honors

Non-Tenure Track Faculty Research Excellence Award (2025)
UGA Career Center Acknowledgement (2025)
UGA Career Center Acknowledgement (2021)
UGA Career Center Acknowledgement (2020)
Sustainable UGA Outstanding Faculty Award (2019)
UGA Career Center Acknowledgement (2019)
Finalist, Graduate School Outstanding Mentor Award (2018)

Courses

CRSS 7000: Master's Research (Fall 2025)
CRSS 9300: Doctoral Dissertation (Fall 2025)
CRSS 9000: Doctoral Research (Fall 2025)
AESC 8310: Food Systems Sustainability, Security, and Resilience (Spring 2026)
CRSS 9000: Doctoral Research (Spring 2026)
CRSS 4020S: Social Sustainability in Agricultural and Food Systems (Spring 2026)
CRSS 6020S: Social Sustainability in Agricultural and Food Systems (Spring 2026)
CRSS 9000: Doctoral Research (Summer 2026)
ANTH 4350: Anthropology of North America (Summer 2026)
ANTH 4350L: Anthropology of North America (Summer 2026)
ANTH 2120H: Introduction to Anthropology (Honors) (Summer 2026)
CRSS 8210: Special Problems in Crop and Soil Sciences (Fall 2026)
CRSS 7000: Master's Research (Fall 2026)
CRSS 9000: Doctoral Research (Fall 2026)

Scholarly Works

There’s not one-size-fits-all for cover cropping: Exploring farmers’ mindsets on cover crops to inform outreach, JOURNAL OF SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION, (2026).
Tancredi MT, Myers RL, Basinger NT, Thompson JJ
Navigating the adoption spectrum: how US farmers manage longevity, entirety, variability and complementarity of cover crops, AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES, (2026).
Hunt L, Tancredi MT, Niles MT, Thompson JJ
The lasting impacts of students who participate in intensive internships at a campus agricultural project., Natural Sciences Education, (2025).
Biang J, Brooks S, Herles-Hallauer C, Berle D, Thompson J
From awareness to action: building a community of practice for equity in food systems education, AGRICULTURE AND HUMAN VALUES, (2025).
Park J, Olaoye F, Jackson KM, Barr W, Thompson JJ
How US farmers experience the adoption of conservation agriculture practices: A cover crop case study, Agriculture and Human Values, (2025).
Hunt L, Tancredi MT, Niles M, Thompson J

View full list of scholarly works