Dr. Francis Tama Koti

Professor

Dr. Francis Tama Koti
(615) 898-5978
(615) 494-8726
Room 245, Peck Hall (PH)
MTSU Box 0029, Murfreesboro, TN 37132

Degree Information

  • PHD, West Virginia University (2004)
  • MA, West Virginia University (2000)
  • BAE, Kenyatta University (1991)

Areas of Expertise

Participatory GIS

Urban Geography

African Cities

African Peri-urban Development

Local  Community Resource Access and Use

Urban and Regional Planning

Community Develpment

GIS and Society

Biography

Dr. Francis Koti is a Professor in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He is the Director of the Tanzania Study Abroad Program offered in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography, the Chapter Sponsor of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geographical Honor Society, and the Faculty Advis...

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Dr. Francis Koti is a Professor in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU). He is the Director of the Tanzania Study Abroad Program offered in the Department of Global Studies and Human Geography, the Chapter Sponsor of Gamma Theta Upsilon, the International Geographical Honor Society, and the Faculty Advisor of MTSU's African Students Organization (ASO). 

Dr. Koti teaches a wide range of graduate and undergraduate courses. Courses taught at the undergraduate level include: introduction to regional geography, cultural geography, global issues, urban geography, urban and regional planning, Geographic information systems, and Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa. Dr. Koti also teaches Foundations of Liberal Arts at the graduate level. 

Prior to MTSU, he was a faculty member at the University of North Alabama (UNA) for many years, seven of those as department chair, and one year as interim associate dean. While at UNA, Dr. Koti designed and led multiple education abroad opportunities in Tanzania, founded the Diaspora Community of African Geospatial Scientists, co-founded and served as Executive Secretary of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association, served as President of the UNA Chapter of the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, served as the Secretary of the Southeast Division of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), and served as a Commissioner on the Planning Commission in the City  of Florence, Alabama.

An urban geographer, Dr. Koti’s research revolves around the use of geographic information systems (GIS) within participatory methodological frameworks to understand urbanization processes. His regional focus is Africa. His work has been published in the field, particularly related to participatory GIS, African peri-urban development, urban and regional planning, local community resource use and access, and social and spatial exclusion in African cities.

Dr. Koti grew up in Kenya where he received his undergraduate education. After teaching high school in the City of Nairobi in Kenya, he joined West Virginia University, WV, USA, where he obtained both MA and PhD degrees in Geography. In addition to English, Francis is fluent in Kiswahili and Kamba and also understands two other Kenyan tribal languages. Francis is married to Margaret and they have two children, Milton and Arianna. In his spare time, Francis enjoys golf, music, traveling with family, and college sports.    

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Publications

(Forthcoming book chapter-2025): Koti, F.T and H. Hambati. Getting Started in Academic Life: Advise for New Hires. In: Solem, M., L. Eaves, K. Foote, J. Lee, & S. O’Lear. Thriving in an Academic Career: An International and Interdisciplinary Guide for Early Career Faculty. Taylor & Francis Publishers.  

Hodza, P., C. Gibbes., and F. Koti. 2023. Africa’s spatial data science landscape in the context of covid-19 pandemi...

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(Forthcoming book chapter-2025): Koti, F.T and H. Hambati. Getting Started in Academic Life: Advise for New Hires. In: Solem, M., L. Eaves, K. Foote, J. Lee, & S. O’Lear. Thriving in an Academic Career: An International and Interdisciplinary Guide for Early Career Faculty. Taylor & Francis Publishers.  

Hodza, P., C. Gibbes., and F. Koti. 2023. Africa’s spatial data science landscape in the context of covid-19 pandemic. GeoJournal https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-023-10852-3   

Koti, F.T. 2022. Resilience amid Uncertainty: COVID-19 pandemic, the urban informal sector, and livelihoods in Sub-Saharan Africa. Chapter 19 in: Laituri, M., R. B. Richardson, and J. Kim (eds). The Geographies of COVID-19: Geospatial Stories of a Global Pandemic. Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-11775-6_19 ISBN: 978-3-031-11774-9 

Koti, F.T. 2021. Foreign-born faculty and academic leadership in America: The myths, realities, and opportunities. Kenya Studies Review Journal 9 (1): 59-66. or

URL: https://kessa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Francis-Koti-1.pdf

Wanyama, Dan, Mighty, Mario, Sim, Sunhui and Francis Koti. 2019. “A spatial assessment of land suitability for maize farming in Kenya.” Geocarto International. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10106049.2019.1648564

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Presentations

Koti, F.T., C. Gibbes, and P. Hodza. 2023. The COVID-19 Experience, Dynamics of African Cities, and Spatial Data Science: A Glimpse of Hope. Paper presented at the 15th annual conference of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), Atlanta, GA, September 8-9, 2023.

Koti, F.T. 2022. An Unlikely Resilience: COVID-19 pandemic, the urban informal sector, and livelihoods in Kenya. Paper presented at the 14th conference of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Associati...

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Koti, F.T., C. Gibbes, and P. Hodza. 2023. The COVID-19 Experience, Dynamics of African Cities, and Spatial Data Science: A Glimpse of Hope. Paper presented at the 15th annual conference of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), Atlanta, GA, September 8-9, 2023.

Koti, F.T. 2022. An Unlikely Resilience: COVID-19 pandemic, the urban informal sector, and livelihoods in Kenya. Paper presented at the 14th conference of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), Dallas, TX, September 9-10, 2022.

Koti, F.T.2021. Resilience amid uncertainty: COVID-19 pandemic, the informal sector, and livelihoods in African cities. Paper presented at the Cities' COVID Mitigation Mapping (C2M2) Virtual Symposium, Harvard University, June 23, 2021. YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZDVAQXp_Vw

Koti, F.T.  2021. Post Covid-19 African Cities: Towards a new Face of the Informal Sector. Paper presented at the virtual annual conference of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), April 7-10, 2021.  

Gibbes, C., F.T. Koti, and K. Foote. 2021. So you wanna be chair? Debunking Leadership Myths and Identifying Opportunities. Department leadership symposium organized at the virtual annual conference of the American Association of Geographers (AAG), April 7-10, 2021.

Koti, F.T. 2020. Understanding Peri-Urban Water Resources in Kenya Using Participatory GIS. Paper presented at a webinar titled, “Mapping Water Availability and its Impacts on Humans.” Organized by World Wide Human Geography Data Working Group. February 26, 2020.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=70&v=CbPqGOzLds0&feature=emb_logo 

Koti, F.T. 2019. Panel Organizer and Moderator. Conducting Study Abroad Programs: Opportunities for Foreign-Born Faculty. Panel session organized at the annual conference of the Kenya Scholars and Studies Association (KESSA), Atlanta, GA, September 13-14, 2019.

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Awards

Geographic Information Systems Professional (GISP) - 2023 (GIS Certification Institute)

Online Course Design and Teaching Certification (Achieving The Dream) - Spring 2021

Online Instructor Certification (MTSU) - 2020

Planning Commissioner Service Award (2008-2019), City of Florence, Alabama

Quality Matters Certification (Distance Learning) - 2019

Research / Scholarly Activity

I study cities and local communities. I am interested in how cities grow, how communities access and use resources, and the interplay of power in the creation of the urban built environment.  A community-based approach is used to integrate theory, fieldwork, and modern geospatial technologies. My recent work has focused on responses to and the downstream impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in African peri-urban communities especially informal sector, and the application of data science tools to explore effective response and coping mechanisms at the community level.

In the Media

Februrary 7, 2024: Dr. Koti's Urban and Regional Planning class was recognized (1 min. 24 sec video clip) at the Murfreesboro City Planning Commision Meeting, Murfreesboro, TN. 

June 23, 2021. Dr. Koti delivered a keynote speech at Harvard University Cities' COVID Mitigation Mapping (C2M2) Virtual Symposium focusing on impacts of Covid 19 pandemic on the informal sector in kenya. 

Youtube Link: https...

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Februrary 7, 2024: Dr. Koti's Urban and Regional Planning class was recognized (1 min. 24 sec video clip) at the Murfreesboro City Planning Commision Meeting, Murfreesboro, TN. 

June 23, 2021. Dr. Koti delivered a keynote speech at Harvard University Cities' COVID Mitigation Mapping (C2M2) Virtual Symposium focusing on impacts of Covid 19 pandemic on the informal sector in kenya. 

Youtube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZDVAQXp_Vw

Februrary 26, 2020 Dr. Koti gave a webinar presentation on water resources in Kenyan cities.

YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=70&v=CbPqGOzLds0&feature=emb_logo

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Special Projects

Director, Tanzania Study Abroad Program 

Faculty Sponsor, Gamma Theta Upsilon (GTU), Middle Tennessee State University Chapter

Faculty Advisor, African Students Organization (ASO), Middle Tennessee State University

 

Courses

Courses taught

Undergraduate:

GEOG 2000 - Intro to Regional Geography (Fall/Winter/Spring/Summer)

GEOG 3470- Geography of Sub-Saharan Africa -Tanzania Study Abroad

GEOG 4290 - Urban and Regional Planning - Spring

GEOG 4360 - Cultural Geography - Fall

GEOG 4550 - Global Issues - Upon Sufficient demand

Graduate:

GEOG 5290-Urban and Regional Planning - Spring

GEOG 5360 - Cutlural Geography - Fall

MALA 6010 - Foundations of Liberal Arts - Fall and Spring