St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights, NYC

Psychology Faculty

Department Chair

Jennifer Lancaster, Associate Professor Academic Credentials BA, University of South Florida MA, Ph.D.,  Hofstra University

Dr. Lancaster’s primary research interests are in the area of academic integrity, the etiology and prevention of panic disorder, and the teaching of psychology. She has presented research at both regional and national conferences. Before coming to St. Francis, Dr. Lancaster was an adjunct instructor at both St. John’s University and Hofstra University. At St. Francis, Dr. Lancaster teaches courses in experimental psychology, introduction to psychological research, psychology of the exceptional child and a clinical and counseling seminar. She also supervises doctoral candidates from various area colleges. Each year, Dr. Lancaster serves as the liaison for the Psi Chi trip to the convention of the Eastern Psychological Association and participates in the planning of Community Day. She is a licensed clinical psychologist with a private practice.
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Academic Credentials
BA, University of Connecticut
MA, Queens College
Ph.D., Ohio State University

Dr. Anolik is a Developmental Psychologist with an emphasis in Child-Clinical Psychology. He has completed postdoctoral training in cognitive behavior therapy and is a New York State Licensed Psychologist. He teaches courses within the applied areas of psychology, including tests and measurements, applied psychology, and field experience. He also teaches courses in the psychology of learning, biopsychology, and history and systems. He is the field experience coordinator for the Psychology Department in which he maintains and develops contacts with various social service and criminal justice agencies, schools, hospitals, and corporations that offer internship opportunities for students at St. Francis College. He conducts research in the area of adolescence, and his most recent publications and presentations focus on treatment strategies for psychological disturbances in teenagers.

Uwe Gielen, Professor

Academic Credentials
MA, Wake Forest University
Ph.D., Harvard University

Dr. Uwe P. Gielen (Ph.D. Harvard University) joined the faculty of St. Francis College as Chairman of the Psychology Department (1980-1990). Presently he is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology, which he founded in 1998 as a unique research and teaching center dedicated to the internationalization of psychology. He has lectured in 32 countries. His more than 160 publications include 18 edited or co-edited books in the areas of moral development, international and cross-cultural psychology, family studies and family therapy, and migration.

 

At St. Francis College, Dr. Gielen teaches in the Psychology Department, the International Cultural Studies Program, and the college-wide Honors Program. His courses include Developmental Psychology, History and Systems in Psychology, Theories of Personality, Cross-Cultural Psychology and Communication, and various specialized seminars. For his teaching and research activities, he received five Faculty Recognition Awards, the Faculty Member of the Year Award, the Franciscan Spirit Award, more than 30 Faculty Development and Research Awards, induction as member of Duns Scotus Society, and the St. Francis College Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award. A Dr. Uwe P. Gielen Scholarship Fund was established in 2002. He has served as the President of, respectively, the Society for Cross-Cultural Research (SCCR), the International Council of Psychologists (ICP), and the American Psychological Association (APA)’s International Psychology Division. When not teaching, Dr. Gielen loves to visit the opera and watch soccer matches.

 

§ Fellow, New York Academy of Sciences, 2007

Renée Goodstein, Professor
Academic Credentials
BA, University of Richmond
Ed.M., MA, Teachers College, Columbia University
Ph.D., Fordham University

Renée Goodstein grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and graduated from University of Richmond with her B.A. in Economics. She received her Ed.M. in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Fordham University. She is currently Professor of Psychology and Director of Student Affairs for the Institute for International and Cross-Cultural Psychology at St. Francis College. Dr. Goodstein’s publications focus on multicultural competence in therapy, and on facilitating cross-cultural understanding in academic and other organizational settings. Her latest works were published in the journal American Psychologist, and the book Teaching Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education: Perspectives from North America. She serves as trainer with the Anti-Defamation League’s anti-bias program, and has presented at numerous conferences and institutions such as the Interfaith Council and New York Society for Ethical Culture. Dr. Goodstein also serves as supervisor in the Counseling Psychology doctoral program at Teachers College, Columbia University, and has a private psychotherapy practice in Manhattan.

Michele Hirsch, Assistant Academic Dean, Director of Assessment, Professor

Academic Credentials
B.A., Psychology and French Language & Literature, SUNY Stony Brook
M.A., Behavioral Technology Specialty, Adelphi University
M.A. & Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, SUNY Stony Brook

Dr. Hirsch’s interests lie in the area of health psychology, specifically pain, trauma, the mind/body connection, psychoneuroimmunology, and healing. Her chapter entitled “Healing the body and mind: An overview of biopsychosocial foundations and applications” appears in Principles of Multicultural Counseling and Therapy (Erlbaum/Taylor & Francis, 2008). She has published in the journals Pain and Clinical Infectious Diseases and her research has been presented at regional, national and international conferences. Dr. Hirsch is a professor of psychology and she currently serves as the department’s chairperson as well as the Director of Assessment for St. Francis College. She is also a member of the Honors Council. In addition to her own research interests, she enjoys mentoring and collaborating with students on their Honors theses, and their psychology theses and independent study research projects. Whenever she can escape from urban life, she can probably be found in the ocean scuba diving with her underwater camera, preferably on a good shipwreck.

Kristy Biolsi, Assistant Professor Academic Credentials Long Island University,Southampton College, BS University of California, Santa Cruz, Ph.D.

Dr. Kristy Biolsi (Ph.D. University of California, Santa Cruz) is an Assistant Professor of Psychology here at St. Francis College.  She received her B.S. in Psychobiology from Long Island University, Southampton College in 2001 where she focused her senior thesis on animal behavior.  In 2007 she received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).  Though enrolled in the Cognitive Psychology program, Dr. Biolsi’s research was conducted through the Institute of Marine Sciences at Long Marine Laboratory at UCSC.  Her research focus was on marine mammal cognition and while at Long Marine Lab she worked specifically with the Pinniped Cognition and Sensory Systems Lab (PCSL).  She conducted research on various problem solving tasks with a sea lion subject and assisted with various studies on vocal learning and auditory processing in sea lions, seals, and walruses.  Dr. Biolsi has continued her research with the PCSL and is currently a Research Associate with the Institute of Marine Sciences at Long Marine Lab.  Her research interests are in comparative cognition, focusing on marine mammals, and in particular investigations of concept formation, categorization, and perception.  She currently has an association with Atlantis Aquarium in Riverhead NY where she is expanding upon her previous research findings with seals and sea lions.
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