Students and Alumni

Honors in the Psychology Major

Psi Chi

A local chapter of Psi Chi, the national honor society in Psychology, was initiated at Dominican in 1979.  To join, undergraduates must rank in the upper 35 percent of their class.  The registration fee pays for lifetime membership.  Quarterly National Psi Chi newsletters are available in the Psychology Department.

The Psi Chi National Office address:
Psi Chi
The National Honor Society in Psychology
825 Vine Street
P.O. Box 709
Chattanooga, TN 37401-0709
(423) 756-2044
e-mail: psichi@psichi.org
 
Membership Requirements
The Registrar's Office notifies the Department of Psychology as to student's eligibility based on: 

1. Completion of 12 units of coursework in psychology or 9 completed units with 3 units in progress at Dominican, plus an official declaration of psychology as a major or minor.
2. A 3.3 GPA in all psychology courses and an overall cumulative GPA of 3.0 for units which credit has been given as transfer units).  Grades for courses transferred to Dominican are counted in calculating the GPA for Psi Chi membership.  (Note: If you do not wish to have grades from other colleges counted you may chose to apply for academic forgiveness.  Please see the Academic Forgiveness Policy in the catalogue. You must complete this process during the semester prior to the semester you are eligible for Psi Chi.)
    
   The Psychology Department then invites students into Psi Chi by letter.  If you have any questions regarding your eligibility please speak with the Registrar's office regarding their calculation of your G.P.A.
    
   There is a one-time lifetime membership fee of $60, of which $35 required by the national office of Psi Chi; $10 is retained by the local chapter; and $15 purchases a "gold medal" which is worn with the cap and gown at commencement to signify membership in Psi Chi. 
   

Psi Chi Initiation:

The annual initiation banquet, held each spring, has had as guest speakers nationally and internationally known psychologists including:The annual initiation banquet, held each spring, has had as guest speakers nationally and internationally known psychologists including:

• 2008  David Matsumoto, author of Culture and Psychology
• 2007  karlene Sugarman, author of Winning the Mental Way
• 2006  Frank Sulloway, author of In Darwin's Footsteps
• 2005   Robert Grant, author of The Way of the Wound
• 2004   Stephen Krause, author of Psychological Foundations of Success
• 2003    Christina Maslach, author of The Truth about Burnout
• 2002   Robert Emmons, author of Thanks: How the New Science of Gratitude Can Make You Happier
• 2001   Robert Cialdini, author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
• 2000   Carole Wade, author of Psychology in Perspective
• 1999   Elliot Aaronson, author of The Social Animal
• 1998   Patricia Garfield, author of Creative Dreaming
• 1997   Jean Shinoda Bolen, author of Crossing to Avalon
• 1996   Roger Walsh, author of Paths Beyond Ego
• 1995   Lenore Terr, author of Unchained Memory: True Stories of Traumatic Memories Lost and Found
• 1994   Jeremiah Abrams, author of Meeting of the Shadow: The Hidden Power of the Dark Side of Human Nature
• 1993   James Bugental, author of The Art of the Psychotherapist
• 1992   Mardi Horowitz, author of: Stress Response Syndromes: Personality Styles and interventions.
• 1991   Bob Shukraft, Chair, Dominican Psychology Department, 1971-1976.
• 1990   Ram Dass, author of: How Can I Help? Stories and Reflections on Service
• 1989   Cynthia Sheldon, Gestalt Institute of San Francisco
• 1988   Ernest R. Hilgard, author of: Divided Consciousness.
• 1987   Rollo May, author of The Wounded Healer
• 1986   Joan B. Kelley, author of Surviving the Breakup
• 1985   Joseph Weiss, author of How Psychotherapy Works: Process and Techinque
• 1984   Lillian B. Rubin, author of Intimate Strangers: Men and Women Together
• 1983   James Bugental, author of Psychotherapy and Process: The Fundamentals of an Existential-Humanistic Approach 
• 1982   Judith Wallerstein, author of Surviving the Breakup: How Children and Parents Cope with Divorce
• 1981   Joan Erikson, author of Our Vital Reserves, The Senses
• 1980   Karl Pribrum, author of Languages of the Brain: Experimental Paradoxes and  Principles in Neuropsychology
   

Psi Chi Book Award
At the annual initiation banquet, the Psi Chi Book Award is presented to the student who has contributed most in the way of service to the department or to the field of psychology.  The student is nominated by departmental faculty and staff.
Psi Chi Alumni are invited to the annual  banquet.  In order to continue receiving invitations to the banquet once you have graduated, please update your address with the Alumni Office and the Psychology Department.
 
The Psi Chi Board of Directors consists of at least one representative from current undergraduate and graduate students and an alumni.  Psi Chi members who are interested in serving on the Board should contact the Dominican University Psi Chi Faculty Advisor, Dr. Gail Matthews.
 
Honors in the Major
Dominican recognizes students who demonstrate superior performance in their major.  Students will be granted Departmental Honors when the following criteria are fulfilled. 

1. Minimum overall GPA of 3.6 in all upper division courses in the major: includes all courses taken in the major at Dominican; includes upper division courses in the major transferred to Dominican from other colleges; does not include pare-requisite or co-requisite courses to prepare for the major;
2. Minimum of half of the units in the major must be taken at Dominican;
3. Minimum of 18 upper division units must be graded; and
4. Senior project must be designated as a superior quality by thesis advisor (operationally defined in the Psychology Department as at least an A- in both Psy 4970 and Psy 4980).
   

Departmental honors are designated on the student's Dominican transcripts and are announced at the Hood Ceremony at graduation each spring.  Departmental honors are a separate category from the Honors Program and Honors at commencement
 

Alumni

“I have spent the last four years acquiring knowledge from my classes that has opened my eyes to the world and allowed me to get to know myself better. My teachers have pushed me to do more than I could have ever expected of myself.  I have been privileged with great role models who have inspired me to learn about psychology and research, and I feel extremely prepared for whatever my future holds."
Vicky Rohrer, Class of 2008

"While working at Walden House I gained experience that helped me better understand clients now. Fundamentals of psychology and of therapy. The most important lesson I learned working there was how experience can effect the way I see clients, simple counter transference, but I had no idea what that was at the time. I had a client who was an alcoholic and very angry and quick to loose his temper, his smell reminded me of my father and made it difficult to work with him. I avoided him, blew things he did out of proportion in hopes that he would be asked to leave, eventually he was asked to leave, but the client that took his space was even more angry, I was forced to deal with others angry whether I liked it or not. My new angry client "Vick" was yelling about another client calling him names and I had to take him into another room to calm him down, I tried to lecture him, but that made things worse, finally I gave up and just let him yell, slowly the yelling became him talking loadly, then just talking and then he began to cry, express his true feelings and started to tell me how his father used to call him names and it reminded him of that. My lesson was priceless in that one day, that if I really listen to the clients, I can learn from them just as much as they can learn from me listening."

-  Molly Henricks.  Class of 2005

"Choosing a field placement was an overwhelming experience, but I knew I wanted to make the most out of it. I decided on Marin  (Court Appointed Special Advocated for Children) CASA. Initially it was hard to get my foot in the door because they required an 18 month commitment, but with some persistence and the help of Gail M. I was able to become a CASA. My CASA experience was the driving force that made me decide to go one step further after DUC and obtain my Master in Social Work (MSW). Without my field placement  at DUC with CASA I know that I would have not been as prepared as I was for Grad school. I thank Dominican and CASA for giving me the tools I needed to further my education!"
- Latisha Dickens

"I just started a job as a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, which means that i am helping people with chronic mental illnesses by providing professional psychosocial rehabilitation, case management, and living skills. I also assist individuals in gaining access to needed psychiatric, medical, social, residential, financial and other services appropriate for the individual. It's not a job that I thought I would be doing but I feel well prepared because of the broad range of courses the Dominican psychology dept. offers."

- Tina Ghirarduzzi. Class of 2007

"Since I graduated from Dominican I've been involved in a number of community outreach programs and I am in the process of applying to graduate schools. Thanks to Dominican's excellent preparation and supportive faculty,  I was recently accepted to a combined Master's and PsyD program, giving me a head start among other graduate students. I am very grateful for the knowledge and experience I gained while at Dominican, and the continuing encouragement from professors.
My career at Dominican provided me with the skills I needed to embark upon a successful future with confidence."
- Chelsea Williams. Class of 2005.

"A required field placement at the undergraduate level supplied me with the experience, information, and opportunity to get ahead in my field in a way I otherwise would have been unable to do.  My field placement not only offered me employment, but now serves as a venue in which to receive clinical hours for licensing.  It was an invaluable experience!"

- Amanda Drumheller.  Class of 2007.

"Hello to all my Psych Professors, I hope you are all doing well, and are off to a good start this year. I miss you all, and believe it or not, I miss Dominican. As you can see, I am writing from my office at UCSF, where I was recently hired as a research assistant. I work in the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, and am currently working on 2 projects. The first has to do with examining HIV risk behavior among men who have sex with men, in and out of prison. The second has to do with HIV routine testing. This has been a very exciting transition for me (and it took me a LONG time to get a job, so I am very, very excited about that too!). I just wanted to say that so much of what you all taught me has been very useful to me in this new position. I never thought I would enjoy research, but after doing my senior thesis I became interested. Now every day in my job I feel more and more like this is where I am supposed to be, and what I am supposed to be doing. So thanks for everything, I couldn’t have done it without your help."
- Lisa Georgetti.  Class of 2007