Faculty & Staff Profiles
Robert J. Dixon, PhD, NCSP
349A Graff Main Hall
(608) 785-6893
rdixon@uwlax.edu
Dr. Dixon joined the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in 2001 and became the program director in 2003. He practiced as a school psychologist for 3 years in the Turtle Mountain/Antler River School Districts (Manitoba, Canada), 5 years in Casper, WY, and 2 years in La Crescent, MN. He maintains his school psychology license in Wisconsin and Minnesota and is a licensed psychologist in Wisconsin. He started in academia in 1999 at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in the School Psychology Program. He also has been a member of school improvement efforts in La Crosse, WI and Onalaska, WI as a mentor through the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction REACh (Responsive Education for all Children) program. He has been an active member in the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) and the Wisconsin School Psychologists Association (WSPA). He served as the President of WSPA from 2006-2007 and has been the WSPA Chair of Professional Development since 2003. Dr. Dixon has presented and conducted research on school improvement, response to intervention (RtI), professional practice issues, and academic skills and enablers that impact school success. Graduate thesis topics have included relational aggression, goal orientation, and stress and coping.
Betty DeBoer, PhD
341E Graff Main Hall
(608) 785-6891
bdeboer@uwlax.edu
Dr. DeBoer earned her PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed post-doctoral fellowships at Washington University in St. Louis and at the Johns Hopkins Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Dr. DeBoer specializes in behavior management and child psychopathology and supervises graduate practicum and internship work. She has worked as a school psychologist and consulted on cases in Wisconsin and Minnesota at the preschool through high school levels. Most recently, Dr. DeBoer has presented in Wisconsin and at national conferences on providing trauma-informed care to children in schools. Dr. DeBoer has served on the Board of the Wisconsin School Psychologists Association for 15 years and is currently serving as President.
Joci Newton, PhD, NCSP
341P Graff Main Hall
(608) 785-6889
jnewton@uwlax.edu
Dr. Newton earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology at Ball State University in 2006. She worked at Cobb County Schools (Atlanta, GA) for two years before joining the faculty at the University of Wisconsin- La Crosse. Dr. Newton is interested in assessment of cognition and personality, gifted and talented students, and the impact of family/parenting characteristics on children. She currently serves on the Wisconsin School Psychology Association Board as a regional representative for the Coulee region.
Russell Vaden, PhD, NCSP
341K Graff Main Hall
(608) 785-8444
rvaden@uwlax.edu
Dr. Vaden completed the Ed.S. and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Memphis. Credentialed as a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology, he worked in public school settings for six years in both Louisiana and Texas, providing a wide range of school psychological services. He has served as the Lead Clinician for a large suburban district as well as the Intervention Systems Coordinator for a smaller rural district. Dr. Vaden's primary areas of interest in school psychological service delivery include diagnosis and treatment of autism spectrum disorders, classroom interventions for inattention and executive functioning disorders, school-wide Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) models, and parent collaboration initiatives. In addition to school-based settings, Dr. Vaden previously has worked in a community mental health center as a child/family therapist and in a hospital triage center as a crisis assessment specialist. Recent research and scholarly work have been featured in a series of book chapters, journal articles, and international conference presentations. At the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Dr. Vaden teaches courses in School Psychology Role and Function, Assessment of Personality and Emotional Disturbance, and the supervision of practicum and internship experiences. Additionally, Dr. Vaden is a local program-evaluation consultant with the YMCA Teen Center, in partnership with the Gunderson Lutheran Health System.
Teresa Znidarsich, Program Assistant
341 Graff Main
Hall
Voice: (608) 785-8441
Fax: (608) 785-8443
tznidarsich@uwlax.edu