Brian Mayer, an associate professor of sociology at the University of Arizona, will give a talk on how the Gulf Coast region is faring in its recovery from the disastrous 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Mayer’s talk – “Recovery and Resilience in the Gulf: Bouncing Back (or not) From the 2010 Gulf Coast Oil Spill” – is set for 2 p.m. Friday in the Grey Rock Room of the Lory Student Center, and is the latest installment in CSU’s Sociology in Progress Lecture Series.

Mayer’s five-year study revealed an uneven pattern of recovery in the region, shaped by distinct regional approaches to community resilience. He will discuss how areas possessing key social resources that better matched official response plans were quicker to bounce back than other areas.

“Brian is a widely respected sociologist who uses innovative approaches to study pressing social problems, ranging from entrenched poverty, to health inequalities, to disasters,” said CSU sociology professor Lori Peek. “Many of the researchers here at CSU who study disasters have drawn upon Brian’s work on community resilience in the wake of the BP oil spill. We are looking forward to his lecture and to learning more about his most recent findings from this important long-term project.”

The talk is free and open to the public.