Department of Psychology

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Dr. Mary Kesler
Professor of Psychology

Faculty

Dr. Richard Deyo
Dr. Carrie Fried
Dr. John Holden
Dr. John Johanson
Dr. Mary Kesler
Dr. Gloria Marmolejo
Dr. Peter Miene (chair)
Dr. Charles Schreiber
Dr. Susan Sefkow
Dr. Jessica Siebenbruner
Dr. Janette Williams

Faculty office hours

Education

B.M.Ed., Music Therapy, University of Kansas, 1972.
M.A., Psychology, University of Kansas, 1975.
Ph.D., Clinical Psychology, University of Kansas, 1978.


Frequently Taught Courses

PSY 404 Internship
PSY 420 Abnormal
PSY 431 Counseling and Clinical


Scholarly Interests & Expertise

Dr. Kesler is a clinical psychologist, licensed in the state of Minnesota and specializing in adult clinical. She has designed and teaches the internship class every spring, which includes both clinical and applied research opportunities.  She is also a Red Cross Disaster Mental Health Supervisor.


Student Research Opportunities Offered

Students with an idea for independent research are welcome to propose new projects in areas such as counseling or clinical psychology, the psychology of religion, or psychology and disaster.


Selected Supervised Student Research

Dr. Kesler has recently supervised the following senior theses or research projects:

Boettcher, Kellyn (2009). Causal Factors of Dementia in Alzheimer's Disease.

Achilli, Nicole (2006).  Epidemiology of Schizophrenia.

Sanson, Danica (2006). Child physical and sexual abuse: Who it affects and what it really does. (also presented at Minnesota Undergraduate Conference).

Jensen, Trey (2006). Gender bias in writing evaluations.

Abbott, Ken (2005). Optimism, pessimism, and cognitive biases in undergraduate psychology students.


Community & University Service

Dr. Kesler serves as past president of the WSU Faculty Association, after six years of service as president. She serves on Faculty Senate, the Meet and Confer team (which meets with the President's office); Executive Committee of the WSUFA, and a committee which selects faculty members for committees. She has also served many years with the Winona County Chapter of the American Red Cross, currently as Disaster Mental Health Supervisor.


Awards, Grants & Other Honors

Outstanding Contributions to the InterFaculty Organization, 2002.


Personal Interests

Dr. Kesler has traveled to many countries (usually with her husband), including Germany, Czechoslovakia, China, England, Switzerland, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Ecuador, Belize, Honduras, Mexico, Cayman Islands (the last four on a cruise). She and her husband also took a cruise to Alaska in the summer of 2006.  Their most recent trip occurred in May 2009 and included England, Norway, and Dublin, Ireland.

She also enjoys singing, gardening (perennials and herbs), dancing, reading, and photography.  She and her husband are members of their church choir.


Family

Dr. Kesler's husband, David, is also a faculty member at WSU in the Department of Economics and Finance. They have two grown daughters. Christel has a Ph.D. in sociology from UC-Berkeley and is currently doing a three-year post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford in England. Their younger daughter Alyssa, a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison received a Fulbright student scholarship to teach English as a foreign language in Germany. She is currently working as the Assistant Director of Annual Giving at the University of Wisconsin Foundation and lives in Madison, Wisconsin.


Joined WSU Psychology Department

1994 (She joined the WSU Counseling Center 1987).


Office:  231J Phelps Hall
Office phone: 507-457-5859
E-mail: MKesler (at winona.edu)

Additional Information:

WSU students in Dr. Kesler's courses may be able to access course materials or information online through the Desire2Learn system.

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Dr. Kesler with husband, David, in front of the Mendenhall Glacier in Alaska

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Dr. Kesler with daughter, Christel, in San Francisco