Corina McKendry is Associate Professor of Political Science and Environmental Studies. She teaches courses on environmental politics and political economy including Environment & Society; Cities, Sustainability, and Environmental Justice; Global Environmental Policy; Subnational Climate Governance; Introduction to International Political Economy; and U.S. Environmental Politics. She also serves as the principal advisor for the urban studies minor.
Professor McKendry's research focuses primarily on subnational environment governance, with a particular emphasis on effectiveness, political legitimacy, and social justice in city climate policies.
Her current research, being conducted while serving as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at the University of Costa Rica (2025), examines climate change and sustainable urban development in Costa Rican municipalities. This research examines how municipal governments in Costa Rica see their role in climate mitigation and adaptation; what their priorities are for equitable, sustainable urban development; and how national policies and international funding are shaping municipal environmental actions and intermunicipal collaboration.
Professor McKendry’s first book, Greening Post-Industrial Cities: Growth, Equity, and Environmental Governance, was published by Routledge Press in 2018. Studying three post-industrial cities of the global North (Chicago, IL; Birmingham, UK and Vancouver, BC), the book examines how city leaders negotiate the relationship between environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity, the oft-cited "three pillars" of sustainability. Her second book, Urban Cascadia and the Pursuit of Environmental Justice (University of Washington Press, 2021) is a co-edited volume that brings together political scientists, historians, geographers, urbanists, and others to critically examine the tensions between the progressive green urbanism of Cascadia (Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia) and the legacies of settler colonialism and environmental injustices that also shape the region. In addition to these two books, McKendry has published numerous book chapters and journal articles, including articles co-authored with Colorado College students.
Professor McKendry earned her bachelor's degree in International Studies from Macalester College (St. Paul, MN) and her PhD from the Department of Politics at the University of California Santa Cruz. She began teaching at Colorado College in the fall of 2011.
