GREENVILLE, Pa.—Thiel College Associate Professor of Psychology Kristel Gallagher, Ph.D., was recently awarded tenure.
Gallagher has taught at Thiel College since 2015 and is the advisor for the social psychology track of the psychology major at the school. She is also a faculty athletic representative to the NCAA for Thiel College.
The National Institute on the Teaching of Psychology gave Gallagher the Frank Costin Memorial Award for Excellence (2019). Thiel College recognized her with the Faculty Scholarship Award (2019), the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award (2018) and faculty development grants in 2016 and 2017. She has written or co-written 21 different published articles or papers. She was the principal investigator for securing four research grants, the project coordinator on two others and was identified as a key member of the personnel for a recently-funded National Science Foundation Grant. She has participated in 11 invited talks, panels and teaching engagements, and presented at 17 conferences since coming to Thiel.
A 2007 Waynesburg University graduate, Gallagher earned her master’s (2009) and doctoral degrees (2012) in experimental social and health psychology from Kent State University.
Gallagher teaches a variety of psychology courses including General Psychology, Research Methods, Applied Health Psychology, Social Psychology and Experimental Social Psychology. She also teaches and has been recognized for her work incorporating statistical coding and the analysis of real-world, large-scale data into the social sciences with her course Statistics for the Social Sciences. She leads students through the “Humans of Western Pa. Project,” modeled on the popular “Humans of New York” photoblog, each fall to enhance understanding and empathy between strangers with street photography. This spring she taught a special topics course on the Psychology of Eating.
About Thiel College
Thiel College is an independent college founded in the Lutheran tradition. Located in Greenville, Pa., the College offers 60 majors and minors, 24 varsity sports, and an 11:1 student-faculty ratio. The College is also home to a new Master of Science in speech-language pathology and 2Master of Business Administration. Both master’s degree programs offer innovative and accelerated five-year paths which allow students to earn a bachelor’s and master’s degree in five years. The speech-language pathology program also has an accelerated 15-month graduate-level program. The M.B.A. program also has a 12-month post-graduate program.A dedicated faculty paired with dynamic research and internship opportunities produce numerous graduate school and job placements. Coeducational from its beginnings, the College remains committed to combining tradition with innovation as it celebrates 150 years.