Psychology & Behavioral Neuroscience Faculty
Bill Dragon
Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., social psychology, Bowling Green State University; B.A., Cleveland State University. "In 18 class days, I can take a class of students from knowing the basics about social interactions to being knowledgeable and skilled enough that they conduct behavioral science field studies at amusement parks and shopping malls." Dragon teaches Social Psychology, Intimate Relationships, Social Neuroscience, and Research Methods. He does work in the area of social-cognition and his research interests are: examination of the social scripts people follow when looking for a dating partner in traditional and nontraditional social situations; investigating how people mistakenly attribute the source of their physiological arousal from environmental sources to other people they encounter; assessing the role that testosterone, cortisol, and oxytocin play in social interactions with others; determining the impact of video game play on aggressive behavior.
Alice Ganzel
Associate Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., developmental psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; M.A., developmental psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln; B.A., psychology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "The block plan allows my Child Development class to spend their mornings at a local daycare/preschool. In the afternoon, we can then link the behaviors they observe with the theories they are learning." Ganzel teaches Child Development, Adolescence, Lifespan Development, Research Methods 1, and Fundamentals of Psychology. Her research interests concern emotional influences on adolescent decision-making and the impact of social media on adolescent development.
Christopher Hagan
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, Florida State University; M.S., Clinical Psychology, Florida State University; B.A. Psychology & Social Behavior, Philosophy Minor, University of California, Irvine. "The block plan allows my classes to dive deep into complex issues surrounding human nature and interpersonal interaction. It also allows students to design and conduct their own short term research projects to give them a sense of what intensive research is like." Dr. Hagan's research focuses on suicide and related behaviors including non-suicidal self-injury and murder-suicide. He works with students to co-publish peer-reviewed journal articles and present at national conferences. He teaches Fundamentals of Psychology, Multicultural Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Personality Theories, Research Methods 1, Senior Seminar, and a Seminar on suicide and related behaviors.
Steven Neese
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Ph.D., Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; M.S., New Mexico Highlands University; B.A., University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. "One Course At A Time provides a fun and focused learning environment. Neuroscience concepts build upon each other over 18 days through hands-on experiences. The freedom of the block plan allows for unique applications of the material, including the chance to visit an escape room!" Neese studies how dietary fats, hormonally-active dietary components, and physiological hormones alter learning and memory processes in a rodent model of adolescence and aging. He teaches Memory and Cognition, Intro to Behavioral Neuroscience, Research Methods, Cognitive Neuroscience, and Learning.
Lisa Janssens-Rud
Lecturer
LMSW; M.A., University of Northern Iowa; B.S., Iowa State University. "One of the wonderful aspects of studying psychology on the block plan is that if you choose to do a practicum you get a true experience of working in that field. Because it is the only class you are taking, you are there for 40 hours a week, just like you will be when you are working in that vocation." Lisa Janssens-Rud has been a family counselor at Families Inc. in Linn, Jones, and Cedar counties, a resident counselor for Four Oaks in Cedar Rapids, and completed a practicum at the Mental Health Institute in Independence. She teaches Fundamentals of Psychological Science, Child Development, Abnormal Child and Adolescent Psychology, Human Services Practicum in Psychology, and Adult Development and Aging.