One of the primary reasons Penn State is recognized around the globe as a distinguished university is the faculty.

As a World Campus student, you will enjoy the opportunity to learn from the same instructors who teach traditional, face-to-face classes on Penn State's twenty-four campuses across Pennsylvania.

David Lee, PhD, BCBA

Academic Program Director, Associate Professor of Special Education, Penn State

Dr. Lee is an associate professor of special education at Penn State University Park. His research focuses on motivational issues in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and other behavioral disorders. More specifically, Dr. Lee applies behavioral theory to help children and adults with a history of not engaging in academic/vocational tasks to initiate tasks more quickly and remain engaged longer to enhance productivity.

Charles Hughes, PhD

Professor of Special Education, Penn State

Dr. Hughes has worked in special education for thirty-five years. His first fifteen years were spent as a classroom teacher of students with learning and behavior problems, a diagnostician, and a state-level consultant. His research interests focus on developing and validating learning and self-management strategies to help adolescents become independent learners. He is currently the executive director of the Council for Children's Division for Learning Disabilities and the editor of the journal Learning Disabilities Research & Practice.

Rick Kubina, PhD, BCBA

Associate Professor of Education, Penn State

Dr. Kubina received an undergraduate degree in psychology and master's and doctoral degree in special education, with an emphasis on applied behavior analysis. He has worked as a behavior analyst and special education teacher, using both effective and behavioral change practices with a range of learners with disabilities. His research focuses on explicit instruction and methods for facilitating instructional decision making.

James K. McAfee, PhD

Associate Professor of Special Education, Penn State

Dr. McAfee began his career in special education in 1969 as teacher of children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbance. Later, he became a school principal, a superintendent, and the state director of vocational/community living services for the South Carolina Department of Mental Retardation. He currently teaches courses in special education law and administration, and instruction of students with disabilities in general education settings. His research interests include special education law and due process, transition, and postsecondary education, and the interactions of persons with disabilities and the criminal justice system.

Kathy L. Ruhl, PhD

Professor of Special Education, Head of the Department of Educational Psychology, School Psychology, and Special Education, Penn State

Prior to earning her doctorate at the University of Florida, Dr. Ruhl worked as a classroom teacher of students with emotional and behavioral disorders and as a consultant/liaison teacher to general and special education teachers working with students with complex learning, behavior, and/or medical problems. Her primary research interests have centered on interventions for students with mild disabilities. She has been PI or co-PI on research or personnel preparation projects, receiving more than $4 million in external funding.

Pamela Wolfe, PhD

Associate Professor of Special Education, Penn State

Dr. Wolfe's research interests center on persons with autism, severe disabilities, and cognitive disabilities. She recently co-edited a book, The Autism Encyclopedia, and co-directs a federally funded grant to provide education on autism to preservice professionals in special education and work with speech-language disorders. Dr. Wolfe is the academic coordinator for the professional development certificate in autism, a distance education program offered jointly by Penn State and the Pennsylvania Department of Education. She is a member of a number of editorial boards having to do with persons with disabilities.