Service

Part of our lab’s mission statement speaks to having a “service-oriented group that is invested in learning and engaging in the art of behavioral science.” This aspect of the mission fits well with my appointment as a distinguished professor in the WVU College of Arts and Sciences as the “Eberly Professor of Outstanding Public Service.” My hope in working in and directing the APP Lab is to promote a view of service as an integral part of professional life, not something separate and apart, but activities that are integrated, interdisciplinary, action-oriented, and inclusive of students. My service vision includes being a catalyst for service cooperation across departments and other units in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, as well as across the West Virginia University, while maintaining a vital program of service that I hope might serve as an encouraging example to students and colleagues.

As I have been faculty advisor for Psi Chi Psychology Honorary and Psychology Club in the WVU Department of Psychology for 10 years, the APP Lab sometimes works collaboratively with those groups in service. In the past, we have provided health education booths (and also collected data) at health fairs focusing on dental/oral health, and also health during pregnancy. Other health fairs have been conducted at American Indian Pow-Wows. At WVU, we have assisted the Ronald McDonald House and staffed WVU’sMerit Badge University.

The integration of science and service is a passion for me. As some of my research focuses on underserved populations (e.g., residents of West Virginia and elsewhere in Appalachia, indigenous groups in North America and internationally), there are opportunities to simultaneously conduct research, and to directly serve the needs of target groups. My grant-funded projects on oral health are one of the central foci of my research. Through research, it has been my privilege to involve students and faculty and staff colleagues in work that is both data- and service-focused.