About the Faculty

All faculty in the Psychology Department hold doctoral degrees from a variety of respected institutions. The faculty's primary commitment is to teaching; however, most are also active in research and community service, and they welcome student partners in these endeavors.

Faculty Interests and Research Specializations (under construction)

Faculty areas of specialization include behavior disorders of childhood and adulthood, cognitive development, violence prevention in the schools, physiological bases of motivation and perception, the use of computers in psychological research, the social basis of gender.

 

Dr. Barbara Beaver

• Dr. Beaver came to UW-Whitewater in 1993 after receiving her doctoral degree from Northern Illinois University. Dr. Beaver teaches school psychology coursework in childhood psychopathology and her reserach interests include childhood depression and coping.

 

Dr. Joan Cook

• Dr. Cook came to UW-Whitewater in 2000. She received her degree at the Peabody College of Vanderbilt University. Dr. Cook teaches school psychology coursework in child develpment and human learning and also pursues reserch interests in the area of child development, including mathematical problem solving.

Dr. Doug Eamon (Professor Emeritus)

• processing and memory for inferences in text (reading)

Dr. David Havas

• Dr. David Havas came to UW-Whitewater in 2012 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Psychology Department.  He received his doctoral degree in Cognitive and Perceptual Sciences, and specializes in language processing.  His area of research is in developing embodied theories of emotional language comprehension, and the role of emotions in interpersonal understanding.  David teaching courses in Cognitive Psychology, and Research methods.

Dr. Kimberly Knesting - Lund

• Dr. Knesting-Lund came to UW-Whitewater in 2011 from the University of Northern Iowa's school psychology program. She received her doctoral degree in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in School Psychology from Indiana University. Her areas of research interests include the prevention of high school dropout, support for sexual minority youth in school settings, and the problem-solving process. Dr. Knesting-Lund teachers school psychology coursework in foundations of school psychology, behavioral intervention, and cogntiive-behavioral therapy.

Dr. Roger Knight

Dr. Jim Larson (Professor emeritus)

• cognitive development, violence prevention in the schools

Dr. Elizabeth Kraemer

• Dr. Kraemer is a graduate of the doctoral program in School Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is also a practicing School Psychologist in Verona, WI. Dr. Kraemer lectures, advises on thesis projects, and is also one of our practicum field supervisors.

Dr. Carolyn Morgan

• Dr. Morgan came to UW-Whitewater in 1996 after receivign her doctoral degree from the University of Utah. Dr. Morgan teaches school psychology course work in the social bases of behavior and her area of research interest includes examining gender differences in students' motivation within educational contexts.

Dr. Christine Neddenriep

• Dr. Neddenriep came to UW-Whitewater in 2005 after practicing as a school psychologist in the Omaha (NE) Public Schools, where she specialized in the needs of children with behavioral disorders and autism. She earned her doctoral degree in School Psychology at the University of Tennessee. Her areas of research interests include the implementation and evaluation of academic and behavioral interventions in educational settings. She teaches graduate course work in the assessment of behavior and personality, academic interventions, school-based consultation, and research methods. She also teaches undergraduate courses in behavior modification and human adjustment.
  

Dr. Heather Niemeier

Dr. Clifford O'Beirne

Dr. Elizabeth Olson

Dr. Tracey Scherr

• Dr. Scherr is an Associate Professor of Psychology at UW-Whitewater. She has been a faculty member at UWW since 2004. Dr. Scherr teaches and advises undergraduate students. She also prepares graduate students in UWW's School Psychology Program to become school psychologists who work with children, families, and educators to improve students' mental health and academic achievement. Dr. Scherr is a licensed school psychologist. Her research interests have focused on marginalized student populations, including children living in foster care, those who have recent immigration histories, and students with diverse sexual and gender identities. In addition, she conducts research on critical incident reporting, a method to help university students process their applied learning experiences. Dr. Scherr has valued travling internationally for professional and personal reasons over the past decade. She is active in the International School Psychology Association, among other professional organizations.

Dr. Dan Stalder

• Dr. Stalder currently teaches social psychology, statistics, and general education courses. His recent research and talks cover cognitive dissonance theory and need for closure, including in close-relationship and political contexts. He also conducts research or presents on aspects of teaching. A recent statistics-teaching talk was titled, "Doing LSD in the Classroom..."

Dr. Meg Waraczynski

• physiological bases of motivation and perception

Dr. Shen zhang

• Dr. Zhang received her Ph.D. in Social Psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and came to UW-Whitewater in 2009 after working as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Arizona. She teaches undergraduate psychology coursework such as Cross-Cultural Psychology and a general education core course Individual and Society. Her research examines how socio-cultural factors influence people's attitude and behavior. She is also interested in studying the implicit processing of social information.