Meet the Professors
Specialties:Child, adolescent and lifespan development; parent-child conversations and children’s memory development; parental acceptance/rejection and risk/resilience in development.
Teaching full time at CLC since:2009; previously taught full time at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wis., and part time at Loyola University Chicago; also has taughtcourses on research methods, the self and freshman-year seminar.
Subjects taught at CLC:心理学导论，寿命发展，儿童成长与发展，青少年发展。
Education:B.A., University of Iowa; M.A. and Ph.D., Loyola University Chicago.
Main goal in teaching:I want students to leave my classroom more upbeat and positive than when they entered it. I want to awaken their interest in psychology and their passion for learning in general. I seek to make connections between course content and students' lives and to build relationships with and among students in the classroom. Students flourish when working together toward a common goal and when they realize that they can rely on their peers and professors for support and information.
Specialties:Human development, child and adolescent peer relations/coping with stress, social development and family systems theory, brain and cognitive development, language development and research methodology and statistics.
Teaching full time at CLC since:1999; previously taught at Elmhurst College, College of DuPage, Northeastern Illinois University and St. Xavier University.Presented dissertation research at the Society for Research in Child Development conferences; co-authored articles published in academic journalsDevelopmental PsychologyandEducational Psychology; received Wallace-Walin award for Graduate Studies in Psychology from Augustana College; reviewer for a psychology textbook.
Subjects taught at CLC:Introductory psychology, child growth and development and adolescent development.
Education:B.A., Augustana College; M.A., Northern Illinois University; Ph.D., Loyola University.
Most memorable teaching experience:当学生们对他们的学习感到兴奋，并与我交流说，他们真的把课堂上讨论的信息与他们的生活相关。Seeing the intellectual changes and development in students within the span of a course is exciting.
Vara Durbha
Instructor, Psychology
B252
847/543-2361
vdurbha@clcillinois.edu
Specialties:Psychology, Human Services and Counseling, College Student Development.
Relevant Experience:Taught Psychology courses at Oakton Community College, Waubonsee Community College and College of DuPage. Served as a licensed Counselor at Harper Community College and College of Lake County
Courses Taught:General Psychology, Human Development, Social Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Child Growth and Development, Exploring Diversity and Human Relations, College Success Course, Career Exploration, Self-Empowerment.
Education:作为教育学。芝加哥德保罗大学;印度奥斯马尼亚大学文学硕士;Licensed Professional Counselor (Illinois)
My approach to Teaching:我认为，作为一名教师，我的职责不只是以一种吸引人的方式呈现课程内容，而是满足学生的需求，并提供他们需要的支持，以发挥他们的整体潜力。我努力创造一个欢迎和安全的空间，让学生们去冒险，去探索自己的偏见、优势和成长的领域，从而促进自我认识。我的课堂材料和作业是为了鼓励学生发展优秀的学业，以及培养对有意义和良好生活至关重要的品质。
Teaching full time at CLC since:2012; previously taught for four years as a CLC adjunct. He also has taught at Oakton Community College, Columbia College of Missouri and Loyola University of Chicago.
Education:B.A., Northwestern University; M.A., Loyola University-Chicago; Psy.D., Chicago School of Professional Psychology.
What inspires me about my field:I’m fascinated by psychology’s mystery as well as its different explanations, theories and philosophical assumptions about human nature. Perhaps most important, the field has the potential to help people live better.
Specialties:Learning theory, existential/humanistic psychotherapy, brain development and plasticity and chronic mental illness.
Teaching experience:Professor Kikuchi taught at Oakton Community College and in the graduate program at Roosevelt University.
Education:B.A., University of Illinois-Chicago; M.A. and Ph.D., Argosy University.
What I do to engage students:I try to create the “Aha” moment by constantly motivating and challenging my students to look at problems from multiple angles and connect what they know already with what we are studying. Self-discovery is important, too, where the student is allowed to find answers to not only classroom problems but larger life problems that they have to face.
Specialties:Clinical/abnormal psychology, development, neuropsychology and honors psychology.
Teaching full time at CLC since:2008; previously taught as a CLC adjunct; also taught at Norfolk State University and National-Louis University. Dr. Lally is a licensed clinical psychologist and nationally certified school psychologist. Prior to teaching at CLC full time, she worked for 20 years as a clinician, specializing in children and adolescents in both Virginia and Illinois. Her practice focused on childhood assessment and treatment, which included working with families, courts, schools and mental health facilities. Dr. Lally received an Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014 from the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development.
Subjects taught at CLC:Introductory psychology, abnormal psychology, lifespan development, brain and behavior.
Education:B.S., Syracuse University; M.S. and Ph.D., University of Rhode Island.
Main goal in teaching:My focus is on the practical application of concepts. I cannot compete with a smart phone in terms of overall information. Consequently, my teaching objective is not just to disseminate information, which students can get from a variety of sources, but rather to assist students in applying this information in real-world situations. My assignments and in-class activities are designed to connect psychological theories to everyday life and include interviews, case studies, personal reflections and hands-on research.
Matthew Rasmussen
Instructor, Psychology
B252
847/543-2694
mrasmussen1@clcillinois.edu
Specialties:认知心理学、知觉与视觉注意;生物学、神经心理学精神药理学;人类的智慧;神奇心理学;和研究方法。
Teaching full time at CLC since:2015; previously served as an assistant professorial lecturer at St. Xavier University and a pro rata faculty member at Aurora University. As an adjunct faculty member Dr. Rasmussen has taught courses at Elmhurst University, McHenry County College, Southern New Hampshire University, and Waubonsee Community College. During graduate school Dr. Rasmussen was a teaching assistant in multiple courses at Northern Illinois University.
Subjects taught at CLC:Introductory psychology, abnormal psychology, cognitive psychology, lifespan development, and theories of personality.
Education:B.S., Northern Illinois University; M.A., Northern Illinois University; and Ph.D., Northern Illinois University
Main goal in teaching:Dr. Rasmussen’s main goal in teaching is to involve students in both the learning and teaching process. Classroom demonstrations, an emphasis on critical thinking, applying the material, and student led research opportunities are important aspects for students to understand the content. To assist with student understanding, Dr. Rasmussen has created a series of brief instructional videos for each chapter in all of his courses. The videos are useful in supplanting formal lecture and replacing the lecture with more time for student engagement. Dr. Rasmussen is always trying to push himself to reach as many learners as possible so they all can learn and appreciate the Psychological Sciences.
Specialties:General psychology, abnormal psychology, personality theories.
Teaching full time at CLC since:2006.
Courses taught at CLC:Introductory psychology, abnormal psychology, lifespan development and personality theories. He is also a national consultant and speaker on race, diversity, multiculturalism, African-American issues, family, careers and relationships. Dr. Rogers has been listed in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He is the author of several books, includingRace, Education and the Continuing American Dilemma.
Education:B.S., Tennessee State University; M.Ed., Harvard University; Ph.D., University of Kentucky, Advanced Study, Harvard University.
What inspires me about my field:在生活中遇到、咨询和教导人们的挑战——无论他们在哪里——在自我接纳、动机、成就和个人赋权方面激励、告知和指导他们。
Specialties:人的发展、社会心理学与性别心理学。
Teaching full time at CLC since:1997; also taught at various colleges and universities in Canada, including St. Thomas University, University of Fredericton, University of New Brunswick, Sir Wilfred Grenfell College and Saint Francis Xavier University.
Subjects taught at CLC:Introductory psychology and lifespan development.
Education:B.A., York University-Toronto, Ontario; M.Sc., University of Calgary.
What inspires me about my field:心理学是一门动态的学科，它推进了我们对生活中最大奥秘——人类——的认识。它为我们作为社会人所面临的日常问题提供了实用的建议。Everywhere one looks, you see psychology’s principles at work.