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Our Faculty

Meet our faculty

Our department faculty are diverse in many areas, not only in their areas of interest or their professional background, but also in the ways they discovered their passion for the field. In addition to being published researchers/scholars, our faculty are seasoned professionals with firsthand experience in their areas of specialization. They aptly incorporate their own education with their clinical and field experience to provide students with invaluable learning opportunities in the classroom. Featuring age, ethnic and gender diversity, our professors are also caring, committed Christians who want to see their students grow and mature academically, spiritually and personally.

Our students say that their professors:

  • care deeply about their students in AND out of the classroom
  • are well trained in their field
  • are both challenging and interesting in the classroom

Faculty research areas include studying Amish adolescents, adolescents' understanding of God, children's views of parents, issues in Christian higher education, research ethics, multicultural approaches to marriage, cognitive processes involved with distracting tasks, the psychological effects of technology, and the physiological responses to stress during learning. Our faculty members also see importance in cross-cultural experiences and the impact that traveling abroad can have on an individual. They strive to offer insight from their own cross-cultural experiences as well as opportunities for students to experience other cultures during their four years at Messiah!

John Bechtold, Ph.D.
John Bechtold, Ph.D.

Chair, Professor of Psychology

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Diane D. Brockman, Ph.D.
Diane D. Brockman, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Psychology

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Henry A. Danso, Ph.D.
Henry A. Danso, Ph.D.

Professor of Psychology

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Valerie A. Lemmon, Psy.D.
Valerie A. Lemmon, Psy.D.

Professor of Psychology, Assistant Dean

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Jenell Paris, Ph.D.
Jenell Paris, Ph.D.

Professor of Anthropology and Criminal Justice

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Jennifer Thomson, Ph.D.
Jennifer Thomson, Ph.D.

Professor of Biopsychology

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Kelly Waltman, Ph.D.
Kelly Waltman, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice

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Professor Emeritus

Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, Ed.D.
Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen, Ed.D.

Professor of Psychology Emeritus

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Adjunct Faculty

Jenni Chavis, Esquire (B.S., J.D.)
Jenni Chavis, Esquire (B.S., J.D.)

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice

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Patrick Cicero, Esq.
Patrick Cicero, Esq.

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice & Sociology

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Heather Cotignola, Psy.D.
Heather Cotignola, Psy.D.

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

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Andrew Dyrli Hermeling, M.A.
Andrew Dyrli Hermeling, M.A.

Adjunct Professor of Anthropology

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Malcolm Gold, Ph.D.
Malcolm Gold, Ph.D.

Adjunct Professor of Sociology

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Beth Guffey, M.S.
Beth Guffey, M.S.

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

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Brandon Hoover, M.A.
Brandon Hoover, M.A.

Director of Sustainability, Adjunct Instructor in Sociology and Biological Sciences

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Trenton Mellott, M.S.
Trenton Mellott, M.S.

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice

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Eleanor Muir, M.S.
Eleanor Muir, M.S.

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

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Molly Myers, M.A.
Molly Myers, M.A.

Adjunct Professor of Psychology

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Samuel Rivera, J.D.
Samuel Rivera, J.D.

Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice and Sociology

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Department Staff

Bridgette Watkins
Bridgette Watkins

Administrative Assistant to the Chair

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