Shelly Volsche is a visiting assistant professor with the Academic Success Center teaching COLA100E: First-Year Seminar. In addition, she is an adjunct instructor with the Department of Anthropology. Trained as a biocultural anthropologist, Volsche brings her knowledge of research and love of learning to her classrooms, helping students connect the two through course assignments and in-class activities. Whether providing support to her students in the First-Year Seminar or mentoring advanced undergraduates, she is driven to help students succeed at multiple stages of their career.

Volsche’s research investigates variations in the practice of family and kinship, emphasizing the role of pets and the childfree in our ever-changing urban environments. Additional research includes evolutionary cognition, particularly as it pertains to the human-canine bond and the many ways in which people interact with dogs in multiple contexts. Volsche has been a panelist on KNPR’s State of Nevada, and her work has been featured on the BBC and National Geographic.