Psychology

Part-time Instructors

2024 Spring SEMESTER PART-TIME INSTRUCTORS 

Teresa Andreani, M.A. James Jordan, M.A. Maria Rowlett, M.A.
Elisa Borreo Tanisha Knighton Laura Ruberto Ph.D.
Bethany Cox Alan Kornspan, Ph.D. Nichole Saunders
Sammie L Davis-Dyson, M.Ed., Ed.S. Amanda MacNeil, M.A. Stephen Slane, Ph.D.
Claire Grant Jaclyn Merrill Angela Varga, Psy.S.
Traci Harmon Ryan Muskin Brittany Wishart, M.A.
Alan Ho, Ph.D. Colleen Pinar  

Teresa Andreani, M.A.

Teresa@workinprogressgroup.com

Teresa has more than 25 years of experience in business and nonprofit leadership. She is an instructor in the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University, and teaches the capstone courses in Lorain County Community College’s Success Coaching and Mentoring Certificate program. 

Teresa works with executives seeking to improve personal and employee performance, leaders seeking better work-life balance, mid-career professionals facing uncertainty in their employment, and young professionals discerning career direction. 

Teresa holds an M.A. in psychology (organizational development and diversity management specialization) from Cleveland State University and a B.S. in management from Case Western Reserve University. Her master’s thesis, Alcoholics in Recovery: Factors Informing the Decision to Self-Disclose Alcoholism in the Workplace, together with her personal experience as a woman in long-term recovery, motivate her work to reduce the stigma around alcoholism and addiction and to create supportive workplaces for affected employees. She has particular expertise coaching executives and key employees in recovery from, or dealing with problems associated with, alcohol and other substances.

Teresa Andreani was designated a Gestalt Professional Certified CoachTM through the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, is a Professional Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, and is Board Certified by the Center for Credentialing and Education.

Sammie L Davis-Dyson, M.Ed., Ed.S.

s.davis-dyson@csuohio.edu

Education

  • Ed. D.  Studies begun Fall 2017, Liberty University, (Community Care & Pastoral Counseling), expect completion in Spring 2022
  • (ABD). Cleveland State University, 2002:  class work completed for Ph.D. in Counseling, dissertation not completed
  • Ed. S.  Cleveland State University, 1998:  Education Specialist degree in Psychometrics
  • M.Ed.  Cleveland State University, 1995:  Master of Education in Community Agency Counseling
  • B.A.    Oberlin College, 1991:  Bachelor of Arts, Psychology, Religion
     

Professional Experience

  • Cleveland State University, Part-time Instructor for Research Methods PSY312
  • Cleveland State University, Part-time Instructor for Introduction to Psychology PSY 101, & Research Lab PSY 412
  • Adjunct Professor of Psychology, Social Sciences, Lorain County Community College (Introduction to Psychology, Human Growth & Development, Child Psychology, and Abnormal Psychology
  • Assistant Professor of Counseling/Tenure Track, Associate of Arts degree program
  • Assistant Professor of Counseling/Tenure Track, Focus on Retention, Lorain County Community College
  • Assistant Professor and teacher of “Creating Strategies for College Success”
  • Supervised internship for Master’s degree student at Cleveland State University, employed by Early College High School, (Jenifer Johnson)
  • Coordinator of Special Advising, Student Academic Services, Oberlin College
  • Teacher in the Oberlin College Experimental College (EXCO) program on various topics related to the Bible 

Alan Ho, Ph.D.

a.y.ho@csuohio.edu

Teaching Philosophy: The purpose of higher education should not solely be to obtain a job, but should also be about self-betterment and personal growth. I want students to have the intellectual curiosity to not only learn the course material, but to also motive and challenge those around them to keep exploring, analyzing, and evaluating intellectual ideas. Education is the ticket to autonomy; education helps people make informed decisions about their personal lives and gives confidence to people to challenge the status quo. Thus, students should take ownership of their educational journey and embrace the challenges which they will face. When faced with challenges, students should not let it define who they are but should take something away from it which will make them more resilient and a better person. I will use my education and my experiences as a student to foster an environment that will allow you to thrive in your educational journey. 

Teaching:   This will be my sixth year teaching undergraduate courses in psychology at Cleveland State University. I teach all levels of psychology courses from Introduction to Psychology to 400 level courses. Teaching is a rewarding and exciting job. It is always a tremendous feeling when students come back years later and tell me how they remember my stories from class and how they learned from these stories. To be a part of someone else's success and happiness, no matter how small a part I played, is a great feeling. 

Personal:  Besides my love for teaching, I enjoy rooting for my Pittsburgh sports teams. Growing up in Pittsburgh, I do bleed Black and Gold. However, I do love the city of Cleveland. I enjoy trying out new recipes, new foods, and thoroughly love the restaurants Cleveland has to offer. Cleveland is truly a diverse culinary delight!

James Jordan, M.A.

j.jordan94@csuohio.edu

Mr. Jordan’s primary focus is teaching. He obtained his undergraduate degree at Youngstown State University and completed his graduate studies in psychology at Ball State University. Mr. Jordan’s research interest is in mental illness in individuals with intellectual disabilities. He also has over 30 years of clinical experience in this field. Mr. Jordan enjoys teaching a wide variety of Psychology courses including Introduction to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Human Sexuality, Careers in Psychology, Quantitative Methods in Psychology, and Research Methods. Mr. Jordan has taught Clinical Assessment and Research Methods in the Graduate Counseling Program at John Carroll University and teaches a variety of courses at Lorain County Community College where he has been a professor for 30 years.

Alan Kornspan, Ed.D.

Dr. Kornspan is currently a single-term instructor with the Department of Psychology at Cleveland State University. He is currently teaching courses within the undergraduate psychology program.

Dr. Kornspan received his Ed.D. from West Virginia University in Sport Behavior with a concentration in Applied Sport Psychology. In addition, Dr. Kornspan received his master’s degree from Michigan State University in physical education and exercise science with a concentration in the psychosocial aspects of sport and his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University. His research interests include the history of sport and exercise psychology, professional and contemporary issues in sport psychology and the history of baseball.

Since 1995, Dr. Kornspan has published 40 articles in refereed journals related to the social science of sport. In addition, Dr. Kornspan has published the book Fundamentals of Sport and Exercise Psychology.  Additionally, Dr. Kornspan has published five book chapters on sport and exercise psychology, three encyclopedia and dictionary entries related to the history of sport and exercise psychology and 12 book sections that provide information related to books and videos in sport and exercise psychology for the past six editions of the Directory of Graduate Programs in Applied Sport Psychology.  

Dr. Kornspan’s scholarly work has impacted the field of sport psychology. Specifically, his research on the history of sport and exercise psychology is cited in top sport and exercise psychology textbooks throughout the world.

Amanda MacNeil, M.A.

a.macneil@vikes.csuohio.edu

Education:

  • Ph.D., Psychology, Cleveland State University, Expected 2023
  • M.A., Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2021
  • B.S., Psychology, Gannon University, 2014

Brief Bio: Amanda MacNeil received her B.S. in Psychology from Gannon University (Erie, PA) in 2018. Upon graduation, Amanda moved to Cleveland to start in the Adult Development and Aging Ph.D. program, a joint program between Cleveland State University and the University of Akron. Currently, Amanda is a fourth-year doctoral candidate in the program. Amanda is passionate about dementia and family caregiving research as well as other issues surrounding the population of older adults. She is a member of the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging Young Professional Council.

Research Interests: Amanda’s research focuses on understanding the illness experience of individuals with dementia, namely how this population copes and manages with the cluster of symptoms that presents in dementia. Specifically, Amanda is passionate about the inclusion of individuals with dementia in the research process and using self-reported data and measures that address the individual’s perceptions of their illness. The goal of Amanda’s research is to paint a holistic picture of what it is like to live with dementia from the individual’s perspective so that we may move forward in alleviating negative experiences (i.e., depressive symptoms) and bolster positive experience (i.e., quality of life) through interventions for this population. Amanda is specifically interested in understanding sense of self in individuals with dementia and special populations including veterans with dementia.

  

Maria Rowlett, M.A.

m.rowlett@csuohio.edu

Maria has been a part-time instructor at Cleveland State University since August of 2008.  Maria specializes in the area of survey/questionnaire construction, statistical analysis, research design, and interpretation, as well as report writing.  She brings expertise based on academic research and professional experience.  Maria has published numerous journal articles in the Behavioral Sciences and has supervised many students in the completion of research projects, journal articles, theses, and dissertations. She has also been selected as a disciplinary mentor for the McNairs Scholar Program numerous times.   In addition, Maria has been involved in project-based data coding, analysis, and summarization for presentation to clients for a mid-west based research company serving for-profit and not-for-profit companies.  

Research Interests: Extensive research experience on Job Satisfaction, Vocational Interests, Time Perception, and Personality. Additional skills include survey questionnaire construction, scoring, report writing, and data analysis.  

Teaching Areas:

  • PSY 217/317: Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences 
  • PSY 312: Research Methods 
  • PSY 412: Psychology Lab 
  • PSY 415: Evaluating Psychological Research

Professional Affiliation: Midwest Psychological Association

Recent Professional Presentation: “Time Perception and Personality.” Midwest Psychological Association (Chicago, IL; May, 2015).

Laura Ruberto, Ph.D.

Dr. Ruberto is currently in her seventh year as a practicing School Psychologist.  She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Ohio University in 2010 where her interest in the educational aspect of psychology was sparked from her role as a research assistant in a lab focusing on students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Following her undergraduate studies, she received her Doctorate in Educational Psychology from the University of Connecticut in 2015. As a graduate student, Dr. Ruberto participated on several research teams, presented findings at local and national conferences and co-authored several publications. Dr. Ruberto began practicing as a certified School Psychologist at a small, rural district in eastern Connecticut servicing students in grades preschool through eighth grade. She moved back to her home state to be closer to family in 2017 and began working at the high school level in a suburb of Cleveland where she is currently employed. Dr. Ruberto has years of experience across diverse settings and populations and is passionate about this field and the students she serves. 

Stephen Slane, Ph.D.

s.slane@csuohio.edu

Professor Emeritus:

  • Department of Psychology
  • Areas of Interest/Specialization: Social Psychology, Statistics, Research Design

Research interests: Time perception and behavior

Education:

  • University of Nebraska – Lincoln, Ph.D. (Psychology)
  • Idaho State University, B.S., M.S. (Experimental Psychology)
  • Employment and Positions Held at Cleveland State University:
  • Previous Interim Director School of Health Sciences
  • Previous Interim Director, School of Social Work
  • Previous Associate Dean (for faculty), College of Science
  • Interim Chair, Department of Speech and Hearing, 2005-2006
  • Interim Chair, Department of Health Sciences, 2003 to 2006
  • Chairperson, Department of Psychology, 1988 to 1995

Peer-Reviewed Publications (select recent):

  • Rosman, J., Slane, S., Dery, B., Vogelbaum, M., Cohen-Gadol, A., & Couldwell, W. (2013). Is there a shortage of neurosurgeons in the United States? Neurosurgery 73(2), 354-366.
  • Sikand, K., Slane, S., & Shukla, G. (2009). Intrinsic expression of host genes and introns miRNAs in prostate carcinoma cells. Cancer Cell International, 9: 21.
  • Rakos, R., Steyer, K., Skala, S., & Slane, S. (2008). Belief in free will: Measurement and conceptualization innovations. Behavior & Social Issues, 17, 22-30.

Angela Varga, Psy. S., NCSP

a.j.varga@csuohio.edu

Angela graduated from Liverpool John Moores University in England with her BSc. (Hons) in Applied Psychology in 1994, before completing her Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) at Manchester Metropolitan University. Angela was a fourth-grade teacher in London before moving to the United States. She graduated from Cleveland State University with her M.A. in Psychology and Psychology Specialist degree in 2015. Angela is a licensed school psychologist and has worked in preschool, elementary, high school, and alternative educational settings in Northeast Ohio. She has experience implementing district-wide social-emotional programming, coordinating and evaluating Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS), as well as completing comprehensive psychological evaluations. Angela is a passionate advocate for at-risk youth and is looking forward to sharing that passion at CSU. 

Brittany Wishart, M.A.

bwishart@csuohio.edu  

Brittany Wishart is a 2006 graduate of the University of Dayton, where she graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She went on to Walsh University and in 2010 graduated with two Masters of Arts degrees-one in Mental Health Counseling and the other in School Counseling. She received licenses in both disciplines and began her career as a Child and Adolescent therapist at the Nord Center in Lorain, Ohio. After two years, she moved to Denver, Colorado, and started a private practice of her own. For 5 years she treated children and adults who struggle with mental and emotional disorders. She also worked part-time as a subject matter expert for the University of the Rockies. Brittany created 9 graduate courses to meet CACREP standards in order to revitalize the graduate counseling program.  Brittany enjoyed creating courses so much that in 2017, she moved back to Ohio and began to pursue a teaching career in the field of Psychology. Brittany currently holds instructor positions at Cleveland State University and Lakeland Community College, and she is currently a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) in the state of Ohio.

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