Rate My Professor Lloyd Potter

Lloyd Potter is a Professor of Sociology and Demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) in the College for Health, Community and Policy. He holds the Texas State Demographer Distinguished Professorship and was appointed Texas State Demographer by Governor Rick Perry in 2010. Since 2009, he has directed the Texas Demographic Center, which produces, interprets, and distributes demographic information for Texas, and serves as Director of the Institute for Demographic and Socioeconomic Research. Previously, Potter was Interim Dean of the College of Public Policy at UTSA. His academic credentials include a Ph.D. in Sociology with a specialization in Demography from The University of Texas at Austin, a Master of Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, a Master of Science in Education from the University of Houston–Clear Lake, and a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Texas A&M University.

Potter's research interests span applied demography, demographic methods, epidemiology, suicide, violence, and mental health, as well as the demographics of water and energy consumption, transportation, and injury and violence prevention. His scholarship has appeared in peer-reviewed journals including Water, Energy Policy, Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, and JAMA. Key publications include "Characteristics of impulsive suicide attempts and attempters" (2001), "School-associated violent deaths in the United States, 1994-1999" (2001), "Youth violence: Developmental pathways and prevention challenges" (2001), and more recent works such as "Predictors of Variations in Residential Water Consumption in Central Texas" (2022). With an h-index of 33 and over 4,400 citations, his research has attracted more than $4 million in funding since 2013 from the Texas Department of Transportation, National Science Foundation, City of San Antonio, and others. Potter has received the Texas Department of Transportation Road Hand Award (2022), Mark G. Yudof Endowed Professorship (2019), and Peter Flawn Professorship (2017). He participates in university governance through committees like the faculty senate and research committee, and serves as a board member and former chair of Community Information Now, a nonprofit organization providing data tools and analysis for Texas communities. As Texas State Demographer, Potter trains doctoral-level applied demographers and communicates demographic trends influencing public policy.