Education

  • Ph.D., Florida State University
  • M.A., Southern Methodist University
  • B.A., Baylor University

Courses and Research Interests

  • Capstone Seminar: Prospects for Community and Civilization
  • Civic Engagement and Social Action
  • General Psychology
  • First Year Seminar
  • Higher education, institutional change, the administrator’s role in the university
  • Service learning
  • Ageism, sexism, racism
  • Prejudice and stereotyping
  • Unobtrusive and nonreactive measures of social behavior
  • Focus of the Social Sciences for the Honors Program

Biography

Janet Dizinno, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies. She teaches classes in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and in the core curriculum. She is proud of the University’s reputation as a campus that is engaged with the larger community, as well as its being an institution that has a clearly defined, highly respected Catholic, Marianist, Hispanic-Serving, liberal arts identity.

She is the former dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at St. Mary’s University, with nearly 20 years of dedicated service as dean. Dizinno has been a leading advocate for the liberal arts, emphasizing St. Mary’s University’s foundations in the humanities, social sciences, fine arts, teacher education and military science.

Her recent collaborative service work includes contributions to St. Mary’s core curriculum, the development of the first-year seminar, and planning efforts toward the University’s identity as an institution that is committed to community engagement.

Scholarly Works

St. Mary’s University (2019). Re-Classification for Community Engagement Application: The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Dizinno, J. B. (2016) St. Mary’s University’s partnership with ROTC.  Presentation to Hispanic Serving Institutions workshop hosted by cadet command April 2016, San Antonio, Texas.

Dizinno, J. B.  (2014) Things I wished I had known when I took the dean’s job. Roundtable conducted at the annual meeting of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, San Antonio, Texas.

Dizinno, J. B. (2013) Setting your work (service learning work) within your institution. “Diving In Institute” sponsored by Campus Compact.

Dizinno, J. B. (2009). The dean’s role in resolving conflict within departments Roundtable conducted at the annual meeting of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences, Baltimore, Maryland.

Alderman, R., Gaier, N. G., Lopez, G., Winston, M., and Dizinno, J. (2008). Academic success in a diverse student population. Team participation at the summer academy of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, Lumina Foundation for Education, Birmingham, Alabama.

Dizinno, J. B. (2006). Institutional change and Kubler-Ross’s stages of dying: Some parallels. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Texas Association of Deans of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Dizinno, J.B. (2001). Critical studies as a retention tool. Paper presented at the meeting of the Council of Colleges of Arts and Sciences.

Dizinno, J. B. (2000). Moving into the deanship. Panel chair for the meeting of the National Conference of Academic Deans, Denton, Texas.

Dizinno, J. B. (1999). The care and feeding of the academic administrator: How can institutional researchers and academic administrators collaborate more effectively? Paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Association of Institutional Research.

Dizinno, J. B. & Silva, W. (1998).  Using multiple methods in assessing the academic major.  Round table paper presented at the meeting of the Southern Association of Institutional Research, Savannah, Georgia.

Dizinno, J. B. (1998). Using a standardized test as an assessment tool in the major. In C. Olney (Chair), Assessment in the major. Panel presented at the meeting of the Texas Association for Institutional Research, Austin, Texas.

Dizinno, J. B.  (1996). A capstone course for undergraduate psychology majors. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychology Society’s Institute on the Teaching of psychology, San Francisco, California.

Dizinno, J. B. (1994). The faculty member’s role in orientation. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Orientation Directors’ Association, San Antonio, Texas.

Dizinno, J.B. (1993). Teaching the psychology of aging: Assignments that work. Paper presented at the National Science Foundation summer institute of the psychology of aging, College of St. Scholastica, Duluth, Minnesota.

Dizinno, J. B. (1993). Developing a capstone course for psychology majors. Paper presented at the meeting of the National Social Science Association, San Antonio, Texas.

Dizinno, J. B. (1990). Interrelationships of tobacco, caffeine, and alcohol use among participants of an Air force-sponsored health promotion program. Report to the USAF/Universal Energy Systems Summer Faculty Research Program.

Hayden, S. R. & Dizinno, J. B. (1988). Program evaluation issues: Assessment of a management training course. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Dizinno, J. B. (1987). Predicting pro-social behavior with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dizinno, J. B. & Friedman, K. (1987). Harassment vs. behavior: The effects of wording on questionnaire responses. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, New York, New York.

Yeo, R. A. & Belew (Dizinno), J. E. (1986). Social and neuropsychological aspects of aging. Paper presented at the professional update conference, Charter Sunrise Hospital, sponsored by the University of New Mexico’s Department of Psychology, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Dizinno, J. B. (1986). Sexual harassment on a college campus: Measurement issues. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Fort Worth, Texas

Folger, R., & Belew (Dizinno), J. (1985) Nonreactive measurement: A focus for research on absenteeism and occupational stress. Research in Organizational Behavior7, 129-179.

Belew (Dizinno), J. E. (1985). Photography as a nonreactive measure of attitudes. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, Austin, Texas.

Belew (Dizinno), J. E. (1984). Age and quality: A nonreactive measurement of prejudice. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological Association, New Orleans,      Louisiana.

Crossen, J., Dougher, M., & Belew (Dizinno), J. (1984). Comparison of reactive and nonreactive measures of smoking cessation at follow-up. Addictive Behaviors9, 295-298.

Belew (Dizinno), J. E. (1983). The relative merits of littering and interviewing for the assessment of attitudes. Paper presented at the meeting of the Southwestern Psychological   Association, San Antonio, Texas

Sechrest, L., & Belew (Dizinno), J. (1983). Nonreactive measures of social attitudes. Applied Social Psychology Annual4, 23-63.

Webb, E.J., Campbell, D. T., Scwartz, R.D., Sechrest, L., & Grove (Dizinno), J. Belew (1981), Nonreactive measures in the social sciences, (2nd ed.).  Boston: Houghton Mifflin.

Atkins, M., Belew (Dizinno), J. E., Licht, M. H., & Pelham, W. E., Jr. (1981). Classroom behavioral observations in the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder. In W. E. Pelham, Jr., (Chair) Identification and diagnosis of children with attention deficit disorder/hyperactivity. Symposium conducted at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

Sechrest, L., & Grove (Dizinno), J. Belew. (1980). Toward a generative taxonomy of unobtrusive measures. In L. Sechrest (Chair), Current research on unobtrusive measures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

Clark, R.D., III, Sechrest, L., & Grove (Dizinno), J. Belew. (1980). Attitude assessment of fraternity members using unobtrusive measures. In L. Sechrest (Chair), Current research on unobtrusive measures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

Cosgrove, R., Sechrest, L., & Grove (Dizinno), J. Belew. (1980). The lost letter technique: What does it measure? In L. Sechrest (Chair), Current research on unobtrusive measures. Symposium conducted at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Washington, D.C.

Folger, R., Rosenfield, D., Grove (Dizinno), J. Belew, & Corkran, L. (1979). Effects of “voice” and peer opinions of responses to inequity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology37, 2253-2261.

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