Faculty

Aline Hitti is an assistant professor in the Psychology Department at the University of San Francisco. She completed her doctoral degree in Human Development and Quantitative Methodology from the University of Maryland. Her research focuses on children’s and adolescents’ social cognitive and moral development in intergroup contexts. She has authored and co-authored several chapters on social exclusion and intergroup peer relations, highlighting how morality is applied in these social contexts...

Eve-Anne Doohan joined the faculty at USF in 2004. She studies the communication of married couples, with a particular interest in relational history narratives and their connection to marital and individual outcomes. She is also interested in beliefs people have about marriage. Her current research focuses on how married couples make the decision to have children. Her work has been published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Family Communication, and the Western Journal of...

Helen Maniates, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Teacher Education and coordinator of the Master of Arts of Teaching Reading Program in the School of Education at the University of San Francisco. As a community engaged scholar, her work addresses both “schooled” literacy and out-of-school literacy practices. She works in partnership with local community-based organizations to provide an annual summer reading program for K-8 students that addresses summer learning loss. Her research projects...

Professor Ruff received a Master in Education, a Master in Couples and Family Therapy, and a doctorate in Human Development and Family Studies. She worked in Solano County at a nonprofit clinic as a Program Supervisor and Lead Clinician, at A Home Within as Program Director, and in private practice -- all focused on the treatment of adolescents and maltreated youth.

Saralyn’s research agenda is largely rooted in her clinical experiences, focused on mental health interventions for maltreated...

Shannon Siegel teaches courses in the areas of growth, maturation, motor development, and measurement. She researches methods to get and keep youth physically active; much of her current research involves teaching inactive and/or overweight youth to rock climb. Professor Siegel is an active member of both ACSM (American College of Sports Medicine) and NASPEM (North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine). In addition, she is a section editor for the International Journal of Exercise...

Allison Thorson is a Professor of Communication Studies, Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, Director of the Interdisciplinary Committee on Children and Youth, and Director of the Child and Youth Studies Minor at University of San Francisco. Her research focuses on how individuals and families communicatively manage and maintain individual/relational well-being in the context of — often deemed taboo — unexpected, hurtful, or non-normative events (e.g., family communication...