Grant News
In AY12-13
Katherine Grein '13 has been selected as the recipient of an award that was established in spring 2012 to honor Dr. Laraine Glidden's career contributions to the advancement of undergraduate participation in research involving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The award will pay $500 towards Katherine’s expenses to travel to the 2013 Gatlinburg Conference in San Antonio to present her work. Katherine has been working with Dr. Glidden in either directed research or paid work since her sophomore year. She is already a co-author on a 2012 publication, and they are working together on two others that they hope to complete before Katherine graduates.
Alumni Spotlight
Erika Delanoy '09 completed her Masters in Social Work at The University of Texas at Austin in 2011. She interned in Hospice/Palliative Care at the Department of Veteran Affairs for 5 months and is now currently a social worker for Family Preservation Services in Charlottesville, VA.
SMP Spotlight
40 students completed an SMP in psychology in AY11-12. Congratulations to them all!
At the end of each year, mentors select particularly outstanding SMPs to be featured in our PsycSMP Showcase. 11-12 Showcase projects were written by Jacqueline Fullerton, Sasha Goluskin, Steven Morris, and Katerina Placek.
Department News
The Fall 2012 edition of p<.05 News, the Psychology Department's Alumni Newsletter, was released on October 9, 2012.
FA12:
Welcome back to former Associate Professor of Psychology Dr. Terell Lasane (at SMCM 1994-2008)! Terell will teach PSYC362: Intimate Relationships Adjunct Professor in FA12 & SP13.
We love when alums come back to visit. We especially love it when they come back to teach! Welcome back to Gwen Calhoon '06, Katy Daly '04, and Jean Milstein '01! Gwen will teach PSYC101: Intro to Psyc & NEUR201: Intro to Neurosciences in SP13. Katy will teach PSYC368: Counseling and PSYC203: Research Methods in FA12 & SP13. Jennie will teach PSYC101 in FA12 & SP13.
On June 1, 2012, Dr. Laraine Glidden retired after 36 years of distinguished service to SMCM and the psychology department. Luckily for us, she plans to be on campus often, working on various research and writing projects. Happy Retirement, Professor Emerita Laraine!
On May 11, 2012, Dr. Libby Williams, was promoted to Professor of Psychology by the Board of Trustees. Libby will work on writing a counseling psychology textbook during her well deserved AY12-13 sabattical. Congratulations, Libby!
On April 28, 2012, 7 students were honored at Awards Convocation.
On April 13, 2012, 30 students were inducted into the Psi Chi Honor Society.
On April 6, 2012, Dr. Noemi Enchautegui-de-Jesus presented "What Keeps Me Going: The Challenges and Rewards of Balancing Work and Family for Women of Diverse Socioeconomic Backgrounds" as part of the Psychology Lecture Series: Populations in Need.
Working mothers face many challenges as they juggle the demands and responsibilities of family life and their jobs. Some of the challenges cut across socioeconomic levels, but others are particularly daunting for low-income families. Through the use of qualitative data from multiple studies, the presentation will shed light on the struggles of working mothers, especially those at the bottom of the income spectrum. Moreover, it will highlight what keeps these mothers going despite scarce resources. Ideas to address these issues through policy, community efforts, and organizational culture will be discussed.
Dr. Enchautegui-de-Jesus received her MA and Ph.D. in Community Psychology from New York University. She was a postdoctoral fellow with the NIMH’s Family Research Consortium III at the University of Michigan and is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at American University. Her research revolves around a core interest in the stressors that affect the mental and physical well being of people of low socioeconomic status, especially individuals and families of African and Latin American descent.
On March 23, 2012, Dr. Rebecca Ryan presented "Nonmarital Childbirth and Child Development: The Relevance of Marriage Propensity and Family Change" as part of the Psychology Lecture Series: Populations in Need.
Most children in the U.S. today will experience one or more changes in family structure during their childhoods. Dr. Ryan will present research on the implications of this trend for child development. Using data from the Maternal and Child Supplement of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (N = 3,492), Dr. Ryan’s research estimates how different types of changes in family structure experienced during four different developmental periods relate to concurrent and subsequent changes in children’s behavioral trajectories. In addition to developmental period, changes in family structure have different implications for children born to married parents and those born to unwed parents (i.e., “fragile families”).
Dr. Ryan is currently an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Georgetown University. Before joining the faculty at Georgetown, Dr. Ryan earned her Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Columbia University and completed an NIH-funded Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy Studies.
On February 24, 2012, Dr. Laraine Glidden presented "Crisis and Recovery: Predicting Resilience Across the Lifespan" as part of Psi Chi's Discovering Psychology Lecture Series.
This presentation focuses on highlights of a 25-year longitudinal study of adoptive and birth families rearing children with intellectual or other developmental disabilities (IDD). Two alternative hypotheses regarding the impact of a child with IDD on parental adjustment are proposed and tested: (1) lifespan adverse effects, or (2) crisis followed by recovery. In addition, Professor Glidden will review how family, parent, and child characteristics can be used to predict level of parental well-being across a 20-year period.
On February 11, 2012, the Psyched for Life Team, consisting of Angie Draheim (co-captain), Dr. Scott Mirabile (co-captain), Carly Legg '12 (co-captain), Dr. Jennifer Tickle, Megan Kelley '12, Lauren Martin '12, Katie Serfling '12, and David Wood '13 participated in the 12-hour, third annual SMCM American Cancer Society Relay for Life event. Overall, the team helped to raise general and brain cancer awareness as well as $1,529.55 for ACS research & patient support programs. The entire Relay event raised $32,305. The next Relay is scheduled for March 2, 2013.
On December 25, 2011, Department Assistant Angie Draheim and her husband welcomed a baby girl. Congratulations, Angie and Welcome Christmas Baby, Lorelei Elise!
On November 11, 2011, Dr. Mark Bouton presented "Context, extinction, and memory: Implications for a biobehavioral understanding of relapse," a Neuroscience series lecture co-sponsored by the Psyc Dept.
On October 31, 2011, Dr. Anne Marie Brady, her husband, and daughter welcomed a new addition to the family. Congratulations, Anne Marie and Welcome Halloween Baby, Rosalie Claire!
On October 14, 2011, Dr. Anne Marie Brady presented "Beyond Delusions and Hallucinations: Developing an Animal Model of Schizophrenia" as part of the Psi Chi Discovering Psychology Series.
There are links between schizophrenia and drug addiction, with a high percentage of schizophrenia patients abusing drugs (often nicotine, cocaine, alcohol, and/or marijuana). She is also investigating possible neurobiological links between these two states, using the same neurodevelopmental model of schizophrenia and adding the self-administration of drugs.
On October 3, 2011, Dr. Stephen Suomi presented "Risk, Resilience, and Gene-Environment Interplay in Primates" as part of the Psychology Lecture Series. View the flyer.
Dr. Suomi received a B.A. in psychology from Stanford University in 1968, and a Ph.D. in the same subject from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1971. During that time he worked as research assistant to psychologist Harry Harlow, running some of Harlow's vertical-chamber apparatus isolation tests on infant rhesus macaques.
Sumoi has served as chief of the Laboratory of Comparative Ethology at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) in Bethesda, Maryland since 1983. He is also a research professor at the University of Virginia, the University of Maryland, and Johns Hopkins University.
He describes his current research interests as focusing on the role of genetic and environmental factors in shaping individual psychological development in non-human primates; the effect of change on psychological development; and whether findings on monkeys in captivity can translate to monkeys living in the wild, and between human beings of different cultures
On September 30, 2011, Dr. Kevin Crutchfield '82 presented "The Neurology of Concussion" as part of the Neuroscience lecture series.
Dr. Crutchfield is a 1983 graduate of St. Mary’s College of Maryland. He is board certified in neurology and psychiatry, and is the Director of the Sports Concussion Program at the Sandra and Malcolm Berman Brain and Spine Institute at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. His area of expertise is the study and treatment of mild brain injury. Dr. Crutchfield was recently appointed to the NFL Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Committee.
On September 28, 2011 Dr. Salvatore Schipani presented "Issues in Applied Experimental Research, with Selected Examples." View the flyer. Three experiments were discussed: Estimating human workload during military robotic vehicle supervisory control, developing tests to assess moperator performance in instances of search and rescue robot teleoperation, and quantifying cognitive process degradation while mobile in a military environment.
On September 19, 2011, Dr. R. Christopher Pierce presented "Epigenetic Inheritance of a Cocaine Resistance Phenotype" as part of the Neuroscience lecture series. View the flyer.
In August 2011, the Department welcomed back Dr. Wes Jordan, who returned to his faculty position after serving as Dean of Admissions at SMCM for over a decade.