Kathy Bergh

Area: LDES , HST, GERO

After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Pathology and Audiology, I earned a Master of Arts in Education degree and a Certificate in Life- Span Development and Gerontology, all from the University of Akron. I have served as Program Director for the Certificate in Nonprofit/Human Service Management for the past seven years. This interdisciplinary certificate program is designed to prepare and certify students to become skilled professionals and leaders in the nonprofit sector. The program currently has 34 students pursuing the certificate and 43 alumni. I am currently promoting the academic programs offered by the Gerontology Department. I am also the Advisor of the Human Service Management Student Association, an organization comprised of Kent State students who are interested in being of service to others. I am serving on the Public - Based LearnignCommittee, and have served on the United Way Steering Committee for the past six years. I was previously employed by Rockynol Retirement Community as Director of Marketing. I came to Kent in 2000 and have taught the following courses; Nonprofit Management I, Nonprofit Management II, Dynamics of the Helping Relationship, Family Policy, The Family, Introduction to Human Development and Family Studies, Cultural Diversity, Special Topics: Internship in Nonprofit Management and Introduction to Family Counseling.

Maureen Blankemeyer

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

I received a B.S. in Psychology from Bowling Green State University, an M.S. in Family Relations and Child Development, and a Ph.D. in Human Environmental Sciences, both graduate degrees from Oklahoma State University. In 1996 I joined the faculty of Kent State University. I am a Certified Family Life Educator and currently teach the following courses: Interpersonal Relationships and Families, Family Intervention Across the Lifespan, Changing Roles of Men and Women, Family Life Education, and Work and Family. I've conducted research in Northern Ireland on children and parents' perceptions of peace and political violence. Other research interests include bereavement and children's aggression. I am a member of the Ohio Council on Family Relations and the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), including the International, Education and Enrichment, and Family Science sections of NCFR.

Dr. Kelly Cichy

Area: LDES , GERO

vita [pdf]

I received a B.S. in Psychology from Xavier University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. I currently teach courses in Gerontology, including the Introduction to Gerontology course and the Adult Development and Aging course. My research examines the links between social relationships and health, and much of my work has focused on the relationship between adults and their parents. Specifically, I am interested in understanding how negative family experiences (e.g., conflict) compromise midlife and older adults' health and well-being. My research combines different methodological approaches, including videotaped observations and daily diary procedures, and offers undergraduate students the opportunity to become involved in research. I am a member of the Gerontological Society of America and the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR).

Dale Curry

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

Dr. Dale Curry received his Bachelor's degree in Individual and Family Studies from the Pennsylvania State University in 1975 and a Master of Science degree in Child Development and Child Care from the University of Pittsburgh in 1980. In 1986 he obtained a Master of Public Administration degree and a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology in 1997 from Kent State University. He is a licensed social worker and a certified child and youth care practitioner. Prior to his appointment at Kent State University in 2001, he worked more than 25 years in child and family services. Dr. Curry's research interests emphasize the training and development of human service workers. He is nationally recognized as a leader in the area of assessment and intervention in the transfer of learning process. He is an active Board member of the National Staff Development and Training Association/American Public Human Services Association, serving as Chair of the Trainer Certification and Ethics Committees, Co-Chair of the Evaluation and Research Committee and Editor of the Association's journal Training and Development in Human Services. He is also a Board member of the national Child and Youth Care Certification Board and Co-Editor of the Journal of Child and Youth Care Work.

Mary Dellmann-Jenkins

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

I earned a B.S. in Pre-School and Kindergarten Education., M. S. in Child Development, and a PhD in Human Development. I am very familiar with the University of Wisconsin campus - all three degrees were earned at Madison. I joined the Kent State University faculty in 1981; in addition to teaching undergraduates, I was a preschool teacher for the nursery school then housed in the School of Family and Consumer Studies. In 2000, I was offered the opportunity to dramatically modify my academic position at KSU; after teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in Human Development and Family Studies for 18 years, I was appointed Director of the School of Family and Consumer Studies. My current research interests include family relationships and dynamics in later life, with a particular focus on family members (across generations) in caregiving roles to elderly relatives. I am a member of the Gerontological Society of America and have published in journals such as The Gerontologist, and Aging and Human Development. I am currently working on research exploring the psychological costs of caregiving.

Dr. Linda Pallock

Area: - LDES, HDFS, HDFS

vita [pdf]

I received a B.S. in Human Development & Family Studies and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, an M.S. in Educational Psychology from the UW-Milwaukee, and a Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I joined Kent State's Human Development and Family Studies faculty in 2007 and teach classes in child development, adolescent development, early adolescence, and parent-child relationships. I am interested in understanding adolescent development within diverse cultural contexts. One line of my research focuses on understanding how adolescents’ cultural identity (e.g., national and ethnic) influences their psychological well-being in two ethnically diverse societies - the United States and Kazakstan. My second line of research focuses on understanding diversity in families (ethnically, culturally, economically and structurally) and how this influences parenting and socialization practices and the parent-adolescent relationship.

Rhonda Richardson

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

I have a B.A. degree in Psychology from the College of William and Mary and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Development and Family Studies from The Pennsylvania State University. I joined the Kent State faculty in 1984. My professional activities are oriented around my interest in understanding and strengthening social contexts to support optimal development for adolescents. Specifically, I enjoy contributing to the education of both undergraduate and graduate students who are committed to roles as human service providers or classroom teachers working with adolescents. Courses I teach are Adolescent Development, Early Adolescence, Parent-Child Relationships, Family Development, and Introduction to Human Development and Family Studies. My research interests include adolescents as parents (particularly adolescent mothers' social support networks and transition to adulthood) as well as parenting of adolescents (communication and attachment between parents and young adolescents, parenting education for parents of young adolescents). I am credentialed by the National Council on Family Relations as a Certified Family Life Educator and have provided numerous community-based parenting enrichment programs.

Greg Smith

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

I have a doctorate in Human Development (Specialization in Psychology of Adult Development and Aging) from the University of Rochester, a master's in Psychology from Villanova University, and a bachelor's in Psychology from the State University of New York. In 2001, I came to KSU after five years as Research Associate in the Ringel Institute of Gerontology (Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany) and 11 years as a tenured faculty member in the Department of Human Development (University of Maryland, College Park). My applied experiences include internships in rehabilitation psychology and gerontological counseling, and serving as Special Administrative Assistant in a multi-level care gerontology center. My primary research focus is on caregiving issues within aging families, and I am currently the PI of a study funded by the National Institute of Nursing Research titled "Online Intervention to Improve Stroke Care from Spouses". I am a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America, a member of the Board of Trustees for the Ohio Association of Gerontology & Education, Associate Editor of the the International Journal of Aging and Human Development, and a peer reviewer on two NIH study sections (BBBP-D and SPIP).

Dr. Steven Toepfer

Area: LDES

vita [pdf]

I was raised in the Hudson River Valley of New York and made my way east to the University of Connecticut as an undergraduate psychology major and student athlete. It was during that time that I fell in love with education, specifically therapeutic intervention, and subsequently pursued a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Northeastern University in Boston. At that time I was the project manager of an ongoing research project for the Robert F. Kennedy Children's Action Corps and worked as an out patient therapist during a year long internship. The following year I worked at The Ohio State University as a psychometrist in the department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. I also co-authored articles on the use of the MMPI with adolescents. I continued at OSU in the Ph.D. program in Human Development and Family Sciences. My research interests focused on family patterns of emotional distance regulation and multi-method assessment of individual differences. At Kent State University I am extending those interests as well as researching subjective well-being. And let’s not forget teaching, a central part of my academic life at the Salem campus.

Dr. Kathleen Walker

Area: School of Lifespan Development and Educational Sciences

vita [pdf]

After graduating with a bachelor of fine arts from Kansas State University, I combined my passions for making art and making a difference by pursuing a master of science in art therapy from Emporia State University (also located in Kansas). These two degrees led me to work in a variety of human service settings with children, parents, residents, patients, and students as an early childhood educator, parent educator, activities assistant, art therapist, and after-school program coordinator. I eventually returned to Kansas State to earn a doctor of philosophy in family life education and consultation, and after graduating in 2002, I joined Kent State's Human Development and Family Studies faculty to teach classes in child development, building family strengths, and professional development. My primary research focus has been on children's understanding of war and peace and the use of children's drawings in research, but I am also very excited to bridge my teaching and research interests by focusing on the transition of our students into the professional work world. Social networking sites, like Facebook, have made keeping up with our students after graduation a whole lot easier! On a less serious note, I also have a passion for making art out of trash, reading books written for children and youth, and taking long road trips with my spouse.