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, Professor of Special Education, Penn State
Dr. Lee is a 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
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.
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.