Terry Shirley

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balloonHello and welcome to my website! I’m a Meteorologist, Senior Lecturer and the Meteorology Undergraduate Coordinator in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences here at UNC Charlotte.

Teaching and Research Interests

    • Weather Forecasting
    • Synoptic Meteorology
    • Severe Weather
    • Winter Weather
    • General Education Courses
    • Online Courses

My door is always open!  That is my policy for all students, faculty, and staff.  If you ever have a question about advising, course options, career aspirations or just want to say hello – feel free to stop on by!  I teach a variety of courses within our department including:

  • ESCI 1101 (Introduction to Physical Geography),
  • METR 1102 (Introduction to Meteorology and Lab),
  • METR 3140 (Fundamentals of Meteorology),
  • METR 3245 (Synoptic Meteorology and Lab),
  • METR 3330 W (Weather Forecasting – Writing Intensive) and
  • ESCI 4600 O (Senior Seminar – Oral Communication).
  • GGY 230 (Introduction to Weather and Climate) – UNC Wilmington

Within the Department, I serve as the the Meteorology Undergraduate Coordinator.  In this role I am: the first contact for all prospective students and their parents, the department liason for all SOAR, Explore and Major’s day events, the coordinator for all meteorology internships and independent studies, and responsible for all graduation audits.   If you ever have a question about anything regarding the B.S. degree in Meteorology, please let me know!

I am the faculty advisor for STORM (The Student Organization of Meteorology), co-advisor for Chi Epsilon Pi (The Meteorology National Honor Society), as well as the advisor for OSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).

I am our department’s LEADS Faculty Fellow.  I also teach in the summer UTOP program, which targets first generation college students. I am a committee member on the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ‘Math and Science First Learning Community‘ which I strongly suggest you check out if you are an incoming Freshman!

I am also a member of the UNC Charlotte Academic Integrity Board, an Associate member of the Graduate Faculty, a member of the Department’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and a member of the Department’s Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

I love all aspects of the atmosphere – I try to bring that passion into all areas of my life, but especially the classroom. If you ever have a weather question, feel free to send me an email.

Feel free to contact me anytime if you have a question about a course, the department or the meteorology program. Make an appointment on CONNECT today!

About me:

lesI grew up in rural western PA and had the opportunity to live 18 years on the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains, downwind of Lake Erie – so my love of meteorology started with lake effect snow and only grew from there!

Penn. State LogoGrowing up in PA, the obvious choice of college for me was Penn State and their great meteorology program. I graduated with a BS (2002) and an MS (2004) degree in meteorology and amassed quite a bit of teaching experience as both a lab instructor and general education instructor. My graduate work focused on atmospheric oxidation in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) and how to improve air quality in large metro centers.

After graduation, I taught for one year at Bloomsburg University in north-eastern PA in their geography department, teaching both meteorology and physical geography courses.

In the summer of 2006, I moved to Charlotte, NC and began my career at UNC Charlotte as a Meteorologist/Senior Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences and became part of a great team of atmospheric scientists in a  program that we’ve worked so hard to build and expand!

My door is always open, feel free to stop by!