About
Eleni is a Professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Superior. She received her B.A. in psychology from St. Olaf College and a master’s and Ph.D. from Binghamton University in Cognitive Psychology. Her primary basic research interests include spoken word recognition. In graduate school, her research focused on how people are able to recognize variant forms of words (for example, how do we know that the word broccoli can also be pronounced as brocc’li, or gentle as gen’le). Eleni’s areas of expertise include psychology, language, memory, canine cognition, and the stigma surrounding mental illness/suicide.
Eleni serves as Editor, Project Syllabus for the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (Division 2 of the American Psychological Association). She is also Associate Editor for Social Sciences for Prompt: A Journal of Academic Writing Assignments. She is also member of Psi Chi.
Eleni enjoys hiking, cross-country skiing, knitting, quilting, spending time with her dogs and traveling. She is a member and past president of the National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) – Douglas County, WI. She also has an impressive (and unexpectedly large) collection of Tartan Noir.
Research Interests
Eleni’s current research interests are largely driven by two factors: the interest of her students and the scholarship of teaching and learning. With students, she has mentored projects that have varied from visual illusions to barriers in healthcare within the D/deaf community to moral competence. Her current interests in the scholarship of teaching and learning relate to issues surrounding the science of psychology, academic service-learning, and reducing stigma against people with disabilities. Eleni’s own research often focuses on she can be a more effective teacher of psychology – as a cognitive psychologist the study of learning and memory has long been a passion.
Awards
- 2019 – Community Engagement Award, University of Wisconsin-Superior
- 2018 – Teaching/Online Teaching Excellence Award, University of Wisconsin-Superior
- 2018 – Fellow of the Midwestern Psychological Association
- 2013 – Outstanding Academic Advisor Performance Award, University of Wisconsin-Superior
- 2012, 2013 – Outstanding Ally Recognition, Queer and Allied Student Union
- 2012 – Academic Service-Learning Excellence Award, University of Wisconsin-Superior
- 2012 – Faculty Mentor of the Year, UW-Superior McNair Scholar’s Program
- 2009 – Department of Psychology Excellence in Teaching Award
- 2009 – Graduate Student Award for Excellence in Teaching, Binghamton University
Education
- 2009 – Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) – Cognitive Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton
- 2006 – Master of Arts (M.A.) – Psychology, State University of New York at Binghamton
- 2004 – Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) – Psychology, St. Olaf College