MSAP Faculty

Rachel Bowman, PhD, Associate Professor

Dr. Bowman has taught courses in statistics and research methods, including online courses, for more than 13 years, specializing in brain and behavior, as well as neuroscience. She earned her doctorate in Biopsychology at Hunter College of the City University of New York.

Maureen Conard, PhD, Associate Professor

A 20-year veteran of psychology education Dr. Conard focuses on industrial-organizational psychology as well as statistical research modeling. She earned her doctorate in Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of Connecticut.

Charles Foster, MA, Instructor

Charles Foster has over 20 years of experience as organizational consultant for many years, including with his own firm, and has taught undergraduate and graduate psychology courses. He is currently obtaining his doctorate in Leadership and Change from Antioch University and joins the full-time faculty at Sacred Heart in September 2010. He holds a master’s in Organizational Psychology from Teachers College at Columbia University.

Ruth Grant, PhD, Assistant Professor

A licensed, practicing clinical psychologist since 1978, Dr. Grant has extensive experience with evaluation, assessment and therapy for at-risk populations in the community. She has taught psychology courses for 17 years with a focus on developmental psychology, abnormal psychology, personality and social psychology. Her PhD in Social Psychology was awarded by Columbia University.

Ronald Hamel, MA, Instructor

Mr. Hamel brings 27 years of experience in the corporate world and 14 years of teaching experience to Sacred Heart University’s Master of Applied Psychology program. Health psychology, substance abuse, abnormal psychology, developmental psychology and social psychology are his specialties with a record of practical application as a senior clinician and milieu counselor. He earned his master’s in Psychology at Southern Connecticut State University.

Kathryn LaFontana, PhD, Associate Professor – Chair of Psychology Department

For 15 years, Dr. LaFontana has taught psychology courses, including extensive experience with online and blended education. She specializes in research methods and statistics and social psychology, and her work has been published in preeminent peer-reviewed journals. She earned her doctorate in Social Psychology at the University of Connecticut.

Michelle Loris, PhD., Psy.D, Professor

Dr. Loris, who also serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at SHU, is a licensed clinical psychologist as well as a licensed marriage and family therapist and has had a private practice for 20 years. She is a certified Imago Relationship Therapist and certified in eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). Specializing in post-traumatic stress disorder and couples’ relationships, she has published and presented on both topics. She has been teaching psychology for 15 years, including classes on abnormal psychology and clinical psychology. Dr Loris was awarded her Psy.D from Antioch University School of Professional Psychology.

William Mayer, PsyD, Assistant Professor – Director of Master of Science in Applied Psychology

Dr. Mayer is the director of the MSAP program and is also a licensed clinical psychologist. He has brought a wealth of clinical experience into the classroom for the past 7 years. He specializes in clinical psychology, community psychology, child psychology and development, and sports psychology. He earned his doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in San Diego.

Dawn Melzer, PhD, Assistant Professor

A veteran of online education, Dr. Melzer has taught courses in psychology for five years. She specializes in developmental psychology and experimental psychology. Her PhD in Developmental Psychology was awarded by the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Mindy Miserendino, PhD, Associate Professor

With a specialty in behavioral neuroscience and psychopharmacology, Dr. Miserendino brings 18 years of educational and research experience to SHU. She has supervised students in research projects that have won outstanding recognition in student conferences and generated data for peer-reviewed psychology publications. She earned her doctorate in Neuroscience at New York University.

Shirley Pavone, PhD, Assistant Professor

For the past 35 years, Dr. Pavone has performed clinical work as a rehabilitation clinician, a counselor, and a clinical supervisor for the State of Connecticut. She has also worked with mentally ill drug and alcohol abusers in a hospital environment. Dr. Pavone has taught psychology courses for 11 years, specializing in health psychology and abnormal psychology as well as coordinating undergraduate internships and community research projects. Her doctorate in Health Psychology was awarded by the Union Institute and University.

Christina Taylor, PhD, Associate Professor

A nationally renowned expert on obsessive-compulsive disorders, Dr. Taylor has been a licensed, practicing psychologist for 20 years. Her roots in education go back further, with 37 years of teaching experience in psychology. Her specialties include clinical psychology, social psychology, and women’s studies. She was awarded a doctorate in Social Psychology at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and did postdoctoral retraining in Clinical Psychology at Hofstra University.

Amy Van Buren, PhD, Associate Professor

Dr. Van Buren is a psychology educator and a licensed clinical psychologist. Her specialties include clinical and personality psychology and she also supervises the undergraduate psychology internship program. She holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Emory University and is licensed in Connecticut and New York.

Al Wakin, MS, CAS, Lecturer

Mr. Wakin has taught psychology courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for over 40 year and was also a school psychologist for 33 years. In addition to his expertise in school psychology, Mr. Wakin focuses on psychometrics, including intelligence and personality assessment, developmental psychology, and the history of psychology. He earned his MS in Psychology from the University of Bridgeport and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study in School Psychology at Fairfield University and Southern Connecticut State University.

Deirdre Yeater, PhD, Assistant Professor

Dr. Yeater has taught courses in statistics and research methods for five years. She holds a PhD in Experimental Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Find out more about the talented and knowledgeable faculty in Sacred Heart University’s online MS in Applied Psychology program. Call us at 877-791-7181 or request more information.