Tiffeny R. Jimenez

Title:

Assistant Professor, Psychology
Community Psychology Ph.D. Program
College of Arts and Sciences

Programs/Classes Taught:

B.A. in Psychology
M.A. in Psychology
Ph.D. in Community Psychology

Undergraduate
LAP 352 Children & Families Under Stress
LAP 425 Mental Health
LAP 450 Human Sexuality

Graduate Master of Arts in Psychology (MAP)
LAP 526 Psychology of Organizational Leadership

Graduate Ph.D.
LAP 600 Introductory Seminar
LAP 635 Advanced Statistics for Community Psychology
LAP 689 Fieldwork in Community Psychology
LAP 698 Dissertation Proposal Seminar
LAP 699 Dissertation Advising

Areas of Expertise:

Community Psychology
Program Evaluation
Qualitative Research Methods
Community Collaboration
Social System Network Analysis
Cross-Cultural Communication
Theories & Methods of Cultural Change

Biography:

Professional Interests: I am passionate about teaching, research, and evaluation that challenges the status quo and creates more inclusive community living and organizational practices that address the needs of diverse populations. In this aim, I am involved in several community-based projects and national organizations pertaining to my professional interests. In pursuing my cultural and organizational change interests, I am currently consulting on a National Science Foundation Grant with Michigan State University to change the culture of the university to be more supportive of women faculty in the STEM fields. I pursue my passion for enhancing Community Psychology Education programs within the Society for Community Research and Action by participating in the Practice Council, the New Programs Group, the Early Career Group, and have recently served on the Council of Education Programs. I am also currently working on a book chapter on Community Practice Education and Employment in the 21st Century. To stay up-to-date on emerging and innovative evaluation methods I participate in the American Evaluation Association. I am very interested in intercultural relations at multiple levels and am able to stay current in this area of knowledge through reviewing for the International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Additionally, to exercise my knowledge of network analysis and desire to create community-level system change, I am currently conducting a network system analysis with a community-wide systems change initiative in Lansing Michigan involving over 300 organizations in a tri-county area. We are currently in process of developing a capacity-building process designed to increase the knowledge of community members around restructuring the local human services system. Prior to moving to Chicago I was intensely involved with the disabilities community in San Francisco, California and statewide in Michigan, where I remain able to maintain some connection to that work from afar but more locally now through the work of my doctoral students. I look forward to getting connected to several current pressing issues in the Chicagoland area through work of my own and the work of my students (e.g., disabilities community, education reform, broad interorganizational collaboration for systems change, etc.).

Teaching & Mentoring Philosophy: I teach because I believe knowledge is power which should be shared for the benefit of the common good. I view students as developing community citizens who are being empowered to become our future leaders. It is for these reasons that in my teaching I place a strong emphasis on providing students with experiences that challenge and expand their worldviews, provide them with tools, and help them gain skills necessary within our diverse society and increasingly global community. In addition, I view learning and teaching as an iterative and developmental process for both the teacher and the student. The co-learning I aspire to incite ultimately involves facilitating an atmosphere of mutual responsibility for learning, which enhances the acquisition of knowledge and promotes critical thinking. Whether it occurs within the classroom or community settings, in my teaching and mentoring I emphasize the interactive nature of the learning process using three main practices: 1) developing a flexible course structure, 2) utilizing an active approach to teaching, and 3) designing collaborative opportunities for student engagement with course material.

Education:

2012 Ph.D. Michigan State University, Ecological-Community Psychology
2007 M.A. Michigan State University, Ecological-Community Psychology
2003 B.A. San Francisco State University, Psychology

Research and Interests:

My research can best be described broadly as Community-Based Research (CBR) and engaged scholarship. My research interests address a breadth of social issues at multiple levels of analysis using a variety of theoretical frameworks and research methods that span disciplinary lines. All of my research is grounded in the desire to work with community stakeholders to create more socially just practices. The training I have received during my graduate studies has prepared me for studying a diversity of social issues using a CBR and an engaged scholarship approach. Throughout my research-practice career I have worked with a variety of community entities, and while my research began with the disabilities community, my professional experiences have broadened my interests to conduct research spanning several social and environmental issues. I seek to understand and address a breadth of community issues asking two overarching questions across all of my work: 1) how can theory, research, and methods from the literature be applied to guide community change processes? and 2) how can applying theories and methods of social change within community contexts make contributions to the relevant body of literature? All my research is driven by CBR principles, informed by relevant interdisciplinary scholarship, and results in various types of output for dissemination.