Kathleen Bieschke will become the new department head for the Educational Psychology, Counseling, and Special Education (EPCSE) Department in the College of Education at Penn State on July 1. In her new role, Bieschke will oversee two undergraduate, four master’s, and four doctoral programs for the college.
Bieschke is a professor of counseling psychology. For the 2012-13 academic year, she accepted an administrative fellowship in the office of Robert Pangborn, interim executive vice-president and provost of Penn State.
She received her bachelor of science in psychology and her master of science in clinical psychology from Illinois State University. She earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Michigan State. Bieschke also is a licensed psychologist in the state of Pennsylvania.
“I look forward to working closely with Kathy in her new role,” said Dean David H. Monk, “and I have great confidence that the EPCSE department will continue to prosper under her leadership.”
Bieschke will be replacing current department head and distinguished professor Spencer Niles, who will work to assist with the transition before he assumes his new role as dean of the College of William and Mary’s school of education.
Bieschke is active in the Center for Collegiate Mental Health, a collaborative practice-research network comprised of over 140 college counseling centers. Bieschke is particularly interested in the delivery of services to marginalized populations, particularly sexual and gender minorities. Bieschke's research interests also focus on how to best train professional psychologists, including how to work with members of marginalized populations as well as the application of social cognitive career theory to research training in psychology.