Faculty

Dr. Victor Karandashev joined the department in 2010.  He earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees from St. Petersburg State University, and his Ph.D. from Herzen State Pedagogical University in St. Petersburg.  His areas of specialization are adult development, attraction and attachment, and intimate relationship, and he has extensive international research and teaching experience including Fulbright, Swedish Institute, and Research Council of Norway fellowships.  Dr. Karandashev’s list of publications and presentations is extensive, and most recently includes “Development of attachment in romantic relationship of young adults with different love styles” published in 2012 in the journal Interpersona, and Teaching Psychology around the World, Volumes 1-3, co-authored in 2007, 2009, and 2012.  He currently teaches Abnormal Psychology, Adulthood and Aging, Motivation and Emotion, and Introduction to Psychology.  Dr. Karandashev is the Faculty Representative for the Aquinas chapter of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology.

Dr. Ben Chihak is the newest member of the department, joining us in August, 2012.  He was previously with the Hank Virtual Environments Laboratory at the University of Iowa.  Dr. Chihak earned his B.A. in Psychology from Macalester College, and his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Biological Psychology from the University of Minnesota.  His areas of specialization are experimentation and perception/action, and his recent research investigates how children and adults intercept moving gaps in traffic at intersections, and techniques drivers use to control stopping behavior at intersections.  Dr. Chihak’s most recent publication is “Perceiving and acting on complex affordances: How children and adults bicycle across two lanes of opposing traffic” published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance (2012).  He teaches Introduction to Research & Design, Sensation and Perception, and Introduction to Psychology.  Dr. Chihak is the Faculty Advisor for the Psychology Club.

Dr. Kathy Kremer is currently Chair of the Department of Psychology, Chair and Associate Professor of Sociology, and Chair of the Institutional Review Board.   She received her B.S. and M.S. from Minnesota State University-Mankato, and a Ph.D. in Rural Sociology from Iowa State University.  She has completed research and has publication in the areas of community, rural sociology, and teaching and engagement of first-year students.  In addition to other duties, Dr. Kremer advises all students who are interested in a Psychology major and helps them with the process of declaring a Psychology major or minor. 

Dr. Bruce Frayman retired from the Department of Psychology in 2012 after more than thirty years on the faculty. He earned his Masters and Doctoral degrees in Psychology from The University of Notre Dame, and his research interests have included face recognition, recognition memory, and direct procedures for scaling attitudes and opinions.

Dr. Lorraine Straw joined the faculty of Aquinas College in 1990. Her previous academic appointments were at Vanderbilt University and The Ohio State University. She received her B.A. from The College of Wooster and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University. Dr. Straw plans to retire in May 2013.