Assistant Outreach Professor of Natural Resources Science Communication Ginger Orton is an assistant outreach professor of natural resources science communication. With a Ph.D. in agricultural communications from Texas Tech University, her research and outreach focus on the adoption of climate-smart land management practices and technologies with an emphasis on audience analysis, evidence-based outreach, and social science methodologies. She has partnered with numerous stakeholders to inform data-driven, strategic, and actionable science communication and has taught multiple stakeholder-based agriculture and natural resources communication courses. Awards, Honors and Recognitions: Outstanding Dissertation Award – American Association for Agricultural Education, 2025 Outstanding Graduate Teacher – North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture, 2024 Outstanding Doctoral Student – Texas Tech University Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, 2024 Outstanding Staff Member – Texas Tech University Davis College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, 2024 Education Education: PhD, Agricultural Communications, Texas Tech University, 2024 MS, Agricultural Communications, Texas Tech University, 2021 BS, Agricultural Communications, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, 2018 Research Selected Publications: Orton, G. & Lee, C.L. (2025). Culturally Informed Knowledge Transfer Toward Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption: Insights from Smallholder Farmers in Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education. Orton, G., Barnes, M. A., Syed, S. B., Reid, J. W., & Smith, A. C. (2025). Challenges for activating undergraduate research: a summary from the 2021 American Society for Microbiology Conference for Undergraduate Educators. Journal of Microbiology and Biology Education. Yang, C. X., Baker, L. M., Fischer, L., Essary, C. R., & Orton, G. (2025). Vaccinating with valor: a risk preventive model to explain factors in parents’ choice to vaccinate their children for COVID-19. Health Communication. Lee, C.L., Orton, G., & Lu, P. (2024). Global Meta-Analysis of Innovation Attributes Influencing Climate-Smart Agriculture Adoption for Sustainable Development. Climate. Catching, K., Orton, G., & Fischer, L.M. (2024). Overcoming Barriers: Describing Cattle Producers’ Motivations & Perceived Barriers Toward Adopting Sustainable Practices to Inform Communication Strategy. Journal of Applied Communications. Orton, G., Fischer, L., & Kylie, K. (2024). Using Audience Segmentation to Identify Target Audiences for Climate-Smart Beef Production Communication. Journal of Agricultural Education. Orton, G., Meyers, C., Fischer, L., & Doerfert, D. (2024). Covering Climate Change: How Three American Agricultural Magazines Covered Climate Change Over 20 Years. Journal of Agricultural Education. Fischer, L., Huntsman, D., Orton, G., and Sutton, J. (2023). You Have to Send the Right Message: Examining the Influence of Protective Action Guidance on Message Perception Outcomes across Prior Hazard Warning Experience to Three Hazards. Weather, Climate, and Society. Fischer, L., Orton, G., Sutton, J., and Wallace, M. (2022). Show Me and What Will I Remember? Exploring Recall in Response to NWS Tornado Warning Graphics. Journal of Applied Communications. Orton, G., Fischer, L., & Lawson, C. (2022). Examining the Impact of Disaster Experience with Winter Storm Uri and Climate Change Risk Perceptions on Support for Mitigation Policy. Journal of Applied Communications. Area of Specialty: Service and Outreach/Extension
