Megan Smith

Dr. Megan Smith is an Assistant Teaching Professor choosing to work closely with students in both the Sociology Department and Gerontology Program. She served as Theme Guide for the new General Education program, is an Honors College Faculty appointee, and serves on a committee for Charlotte Phi Beta Kappa chapter in CHESS. She was recently inducted as a Distinguished Faculty Member through Phi Kappa Phi. Before her time teaching at UNC Charlotte, she earned her Ph.D. at Emory University, achieved a Master of Arts degree in Sociology at Charlotte in 2011, and a Bachelors of Arts degree at North Carolina State University in Sociology with an Anthropology concentration in 2001.

Her research and teaching interests are in the areas of mental health, loneliness, health and illness deviant behavior. She teaches online and face-to-face courses, upper-level, and graduate courses in mental health and deviance. She has earned three Quality Matters certifications for courses in the Sociology department that also support the School of Professional Studies. Her research interests extend beyond the classroom in the forms of invitations to speak at conferences and in more informal settings and writing for public consumption specifically on the topic of loneliness.

Her latest co-authored book is Ties that Enable: Community Solidarity for People Living with Serious Mental Health Problems (Rutgers, 2021). She has a forthcoming textbook title, Sociological Insights on Mental Health and Distress (forthcoming 2025).