Connie Wolfe
Education
- Ph.D., University of Michigan
- M.A., University at Buffalo
- B.A., Ohio University
Teaching Interests
I love the discipline of psychology, sharing my knowledge of it, and co-creating new insights with students. The courses I teach most often include Intro, Social, Research Methods and upper level seminars about racism and the experiences of students of color at colleges like Muhlenberg. All of my teaching emphasizes the fact that what we think of as “reality” is actually our individualized perception of reality. Those perceptions are shaped by our own lived experiences within the cultures and sub-cultures we inhabit. Understanding this is the starting point for learning cultural humility, anti-racism, conflict resolution, and how to conduct and understand psychological research. In other words, all of my teaching centers social justice.
Research, Scholarship or Creative/Artistic Interests
My research centers broadly on topics of racism. All of my work is done in collaboration with students and, as such, is richly rewarding for me. Most recently, my work has focused on understanding the experiences of students of color here at Muhlenberg. Typically, research on “diversity” and “climate” is done using surveys. As the data is quantified, student experiences are reduced and de-contextualized. My lab uses interview data to supplement the survey work, allowing the College to understand, qualitatively and in context, the interpersonal, academic, and socio-emotional experiences of our students.
A secondary area of interest is survey or experimental work about how a white person’s understanding of their own racial identity influences how they understand issues of diversity and inclusion: e.g., how the desire to be “colorblind” or to avoid appearing prejudiced affects behavior when issues of race arise in conversations or classroom discussions.
- Contemporary Racism
- Multicultural Psychology
- Research Apprenticeship - POC Mattering at a PWI
- Research Methods in Psychology
- Social Psychology
- Paul C. Empie Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2017
*Indicates student collaborator
*Cubano, R., *Foss, K.C., *Muñoz, J., *Sidibeh, I., *Witherspoon-Dweh, A. & Wolfe, C. (2024, March). Do Muhlenberg Students of Color Feel Like They Matter? A Research Report. Presented at the 10th Annual Lehigh University Student Affairs Research and Assessment Symposium. Online.
Wolfe, C., *Morris, TC., *Morris, N. (October, 2020). Understanding Racism at PWIs: Ethical and Impactful Data Collection from Marginalized Populations. Presentation at the 20th Annual Diversity Challenge: “Goodbye ‘isms and Hello Future!" Online, Sponsored by the Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College. (peer-reviewed)
*Booth, B., *Brint, M., *Cannon, M., *Cohen-Oppenheimer, H., *Hayward, S., *Howland, B., *Josephs, A., Lane, J., *Rabejee, L., *Sedlis, L. & *Urian, B. (2018, April). Understanding Race at Majority White Colleges: Ethical Collection of Qualitative Data from Marginalized Populations. Poster presented at the 34th Annual LVAIC Undergraduate Psychology Conference, Allentown, PA.
Azar, J., Clarke, T., Meek, R. & Wolfe, C. (June 2017). Engaged Dialogue, Open Education: Explorations in Student Produced Media Making and Open Digital Technology. Presentation at Intergroup Dialogue in Context, Second Biennial Conference, Cornell University, Ithica, NY.
*Katriel, E. *Fogelman, A., *Weinstein, H., *Weisenseel, K. & Wolfe, C. (2017, May). Not Feeling Your Pain: Failing to Understand the Harm of Racial Microaggressions. Poster presented at the annual conference of the Association for Psychological Science, Boston, MA.
*Patterson, T., & Wolfe, C. (2015, June). Perceptions of Black Fathers Re-entering into Family Life. Poster presented at the Biennial Conference of the Society for Community Research and Action, Lowell, MA.
*Schoenberg, K., *Allen, E., & Wolfe, C. Beautiful is Good... and Mean? (2015, March). Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Philadelphia, PA.
Wolfe, C. T. & Chi, J.K.G. (2013). Improving campus climate: The role of social justice. Texas Education Review, 1, 59-72. Retrieve from http://txedrev.org/volume-one-time- capsule-2013.
Wolfe, C.T., Chi, J.K.G., *Rabinovich, A., *Cole, L., *Freckleton, S. & *Murphy, M. (2010, October). Student and Faculty “Happy Talk” about Diversity: An Obstacle to Teaching about Racism. Poster presented at the 10th Annual Diversity Challenge: “Race and Culture in Teaching, Training, and Supervision.” Boston, MA.
Chi, J.K.G., Wolfe, C. T., *Weiss, D., *Leavitt, R., *Grom, L., *Rodriguez, K., & *Prevete, T. (2008, June). Social Justice and “Diversity Talk” at a Small Liberal Arts Institution. Poster presented at the conference for the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, Chicago, Illinois.
Psychology
Contact: conniewolfe@muhlenberg.edu