School Psychology Program Faculty
School Psychology Faculty - Core
Associate Professor James Persinger, Ph.D. (The University of Kansas)
School Psychology Program Director Dr. James Persinger, Associate Professor, joined the Teachers College faculty in 2000. Having attended Emporia State University 15 years ago as both an undergraduate and graduate student, he continued his education at the University of Kansas while working in the schools. Dr. Persinger brings 10 years of experience as a school psychologist, preschool coordinator and autism teacher to the Teachers College. He has served on the boards of the nfant Toddler Services Network of Riley County, the Kansas Asociation of School Psychologists, and the Association for Psychological and Educational Research in Kansas. He maintains memberships in NASP, KASP, TSP, CEC, CEDS, KASEA, and PERK. He has recently served as a development consultant for Special Olympics, and assisted with standardization of the Stanford-Binet V Intelligence Scales, Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (3rd) and Bender-Gestalt (revised). Dr. Persinger regularly presents to public school faculty, as well as state and national conferences, on topics as diverse as inclusive education, role-playing therapies and prosocial competence programs.
Click here for Dr. Persinger's Personal Webpage
Courses Taught:
PY 714 Assess Young Children/Special Needs
PY 812 Individual Assessment
PY 841 Intellectual Assessment
SD 860 Administration and Supervision of Special Education Programs
PY 900 Thesis
PY 910 Internship in School Psychology I
PY 920 Internship in School Psychology II
Research Interests:
Inclusive education, role-playing therapies, social skills curricula, prosocial competence programs
Assistant Professor Jeff Tysinger, Ph.D. (The University of Memphis)
Dr. Jeff Tysinger, Assistant Professor, has a career rich in diverse experiences. After working as a Ranger in the United States Army, he completed his undergraduate degree and earned his Masters in Clinical Psychology. He then worked as a Clinical Psychologist before earning his Doctorate in School Psychology and working as a school psychologist in a variety of settings, including Alaska, urban New Orleans in Louisiana, and Memphis. In Alaska Dr. Tysinger worked on a State Crisis Team, lending him an up close perspective on crisis prevention and intervention. He presents from the local to national levels in areas such as psychoeducational assessment, consultation in the schools, and treatment effectiveness, and he has received numerous grants to assist in these presentations. He maintains memberships with APA, NASP, SWPA, KASP, and PERK. Furthermore, Dr. Tysinger has regularly been active in KASP, and he currently serves as the president. Dr. Tysinger also is NASP program reviewer, a NCSP portfolio reviewer, and a volunteer for the Red Cross.
Click here for Dr. Tysinger's Personal Webpage
Courses Taught:
PY 835 Seminar in School Psychology
PY 836 School-Based Prevention and Intervention
PY 838 Supervised Practice in School Psychology
PY 843 Psycho-educational assessment
PY 900 Thesis
Research Interests:
School based consultation, treatment effectiveness, system level interventions, CHC Model of Cognitive Ability, and emotional/behavioral ratings
School Psychology Faculty – Adjunct
Associate Professor Diane Miller, Ph.D. (The University of Kansas)
Dr. Diane Miller, Associate Professor, came to ESU with extensive experience in education, both at the university level and from K-12. Dr. Miller is currently president of the faculty, on the Faculty Senate, Finance Committee, Psychology and Special Education Department Grievance Committee, and Dean’s Advisory Committee here at ESU. She is a faculty sponsor for the ESU Student Council for Exceptional Children and recently received the Teachers College Excellence in Instruction Award. In addition, Dr. Miller is a contract monitor for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, a Kansas State Department of Education Onsite Evaluator, and she is president of the Learning Disabilities Association of Kansas and on the NCATE Steering Committee, among other things. On top of this, Dr. Miller maintains a list of professional certification endorsements in both Kansas and Oklahoma. Dr. Miller takes interest in state special education advisory panels, the Bureau of Indian Affairs Education, general and special education collaboration, and special education parent involvement, and regularly presents on these areas at local to international conferences.
Courses Taught:
SD 700 Characteristics Ind. with Mild/Moderate Disability
SD 702 Methods Ind. with Mild/Moderate Disabilities
Research Interests:
State special education advisory panels, Bureau of Indian Affairs Education, general and special education collaboration, and special education parent involvement
Associate Professor Frank Mullins Ed.D. (The University of North Texas)
Dr. Frank Mullins, Associate Professor, enjoys lifetime certifications in elementary education, secondary education, generic special education, seriously emotional disabilities, learning disabilities, mental retardation, and as a certified Special Olympics coach. Dr. Mullins has worked as an instructor at the K-12 and university levels, and has also been a consultant and site analyst among other positions. He has attended countless conferences, and presented at many in areas including NCLB, IDEA, student empowerment and success, and parent/teacher collaboration. Finally, Dr. Mullins has spent countless hours serving the community as a foster parent, an AIDS counselor, a HOST mentor, working in foster care regulation, providing respite services, and being involved in Cub Scouts and on the ESU campus.
Courses Taught:
SD 802 Seminar in Behavior Management
SD 800 Consultation/Collaboration
Research Interests:
NCLB, IDEA, student empowerment and success, and parent/teacher collaboration
Professor Cooper Holmes, Ph.D. (The University of Toledo)
Dr. Cooper B. Holmes, Professor, brings 35 years experience as an instructor in the field of psychology and working as a neuropsychology clinician and consultant in state hospitals and private practice. He maintains membership in APA, PERK, and the National Academy of Neuropsychology, and has received various honors throughout his career. Dr. Holmes is a book/chapter reviewer and a journal manuscript reviewer for numerous publishing companies. He has authored a multitude of books, book chapters, and various other publications and he has presented numerous times from the local to national level in areas including brain dysfunction, perceptual and motor skills, graduate training, psychological disorders and assessments, various aspects of personality, and neuropsychological assessment in special education.
Courses Taught:
PY 709 Introduction to Neuropsychology
PY 722 Theories of Learning
PY 806 Personality Assessment
Research Interests:
Ethics and brain impairment among psychiatric clients
School Psychology Faculty – Associate
Professor Lauren Shapiro, Ph.D. (Rutgers)
Dr. Lauren Shapiro, Professor, serves as a reviewer and consultant for multiple publications in addition to her teaching. Dr. Shapiro is also an avid researcher, and enjoys researching in the areas of discourse processes/literacy, event knowledge (acquisition, representation, application), individual differences in memory processes (e.g., gender, temperament), narrative development (scripts, personal narratives, stories), and planning strategies (construction and problem-solving). In addition, Dr. Shapiro has received numerous travel and academic grants and awards, including in 2006 she was named Who’s Who of American Women and she received the Faculty Recognition Award for Scholarly Activity. Dr. Shapiro is affiliated with multiple professional organizations as well.
Courses Taught:
PY 811 Seminar in Human Growth and Development
Research Interests:
Discourse processes/literacy, event knowledge (acquisition, representation, application), individual differences in memory processes (e.g., gender, temperament), narrative development (scripts, personal narratives, stories), and planning strategies (construction and problem-solving)
Professor Marvin Kuehn, Ed.D. (Texas A&M - Commerce)
Dr. Marvin Kuehn, professor in the Department of Counselor Education and Rehabilitation Programs, has assumed many leadership roles during his career at ESU, including but not limited to serving as Director of Rehabilitation Programs for 31 years, acting as Chair of the Department twice, serving as President of the Faculty for a year, and he is currently on the Executive Board of the Council on Rehabilitation Education (CORE) which is the national accrediting organization for rehabilitation counseling programs. He has written over 50 state and federal grants for ESU totaling over $3 million and serves as a consultant and peer reviewer for the U.S. Department of Education and the Social Security Administration. In addition, he has been a member of the Editorial Boards for Journal of Rehabilitation and Journal of Rehabilitation Education. He has made numerous presentations and written several articles and chapters in books in the rehabilitation field. Throughout his career at ESU, he has received the outstanding service award for The Teachers College and has been recognized as an outstanding faculty member in The Teachers College for his excellence in scholarly activity.
Courses Taught:
CE 810 Pre-Practicum Counseling Skills
Research Interests:
Medical implications of disability, disability policy and legislation, professional
credentialing, psychosocial adjustment to loss, and trends in rehabilitation
Assistant Professor Gwen Carnes, Ph.D./Ed.D. (The University of Oklahoma)
Dr. Gwen D. Carnes, Assistant Professor, has recently joined the ESU faculty. She comes from Oklahoma with experience as a middle/high school mathematics teacher and university instructor, as well as having participated as a Master Teacher in Residence in the Oklahoma Teacher Education Collaborative, an NSF grant project. She earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Tulsa University, a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Central Oklahoma, and her doctoral degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Oklahoma State University. Dr. Carnes teaches classes in research, statistics and psychology. Her research interests include issues in mathematics education reform, teacher efficacy, and novice teacher induction programs.
Courses Taught:
ER 851 Research Design and Writing
ER 851 ER 857 Statistical Methods for Ed/Psych II
Research Interests:
Issues in mathematics education reform, teacher efficacy, and novice teacher induction programs
Assistant Professor Connie Phelps, Ed.D. (The University of Arkansas)
Dr. Connie Phelps, Assistant Professor, has experience in curriculum and instruction, gifted education, and university level teaching. At ESU Dr. Phelps is the Director of Gifted Education; she is on the ESU faculty senate, the ESU Disability Services Advisory Committee, and the Psychology and Special Education Department Grievance Committee. She currently maintains membership in KGTC on the board of directors and as the historian, NAGC in the curriculum studies division, WCGTC, AEGUS, and PDK serving as the WSU Chapter Newsletter Editor. In addition, Dr. Phelps is licensed in elementary education in Texas, and she is “highly qualified” to teach elementary and gifted in Kansas. Dr. Phelps was named Who’s Who in American Educators and Who’s Who of American Women. Dr. Phelps holds interests in identification of gifted students and underachievement.
Courses Taught:
PY 850 Characteristics/Gifts & Talents
Research Interests:
Identification of gifted students and underachievement
Professor Kenneth Weather, Chair, Dept. of Psychology and Special Education
Connie Baumgardner, Program Secretary
Last Updated April 30, 2007