Dr. Joshua Behr, research associate professor, brings to VMASC social sciences research a background and expertise in healthcare delivery and emergency departments, complex social phenomena, election systems and political behavior, community vulnerability and emergency preparedness, and environmental health and built environments.

Dr. Behr received his training at the University of New Orleans specializing in urban and minority politics. He has taught a variety of public policy, state government, and statistical methods courses at the University of New Orleans, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, and Old Dominion University. He has published articles on presidential approval, times series methodology, and minority employment patterns. His recent book (SUNY Press) on political redistricting has been well received by the general reader and academics alike. He was fortunate enough to have visited Hampton Roads in the mid-1990s - a time when downtown Norfolk was in renaissance - and immediately recognized the quality of life available for a young family in Hampton Roads. He also recognized that Hampton Roads, unlike many other similar-sized metropolitan areas, had not systematically traced perceptions of quality of life. Understanding the importance of such indicators as a planning tool, Dr. Behr has since launched a ten-year project to measure trends in citizen perceptions of quality of life here in Hampton Roads. Currently, Dr. Behr is collaborating with EVMS to identify health disparities as well as working with Sentara Hospitals to identify patterns of emergency room utilization.