Dr. Christine Balan
Associate Professorcbalan@kent.edu
318 B 405 White Hall
Area: LDES
Dr. Christine Balan received her doctorate in Special Education from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. She has been a faculty member at Kent State University since 1996: and is currently a full-time non-tenure track Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Special Services. Her areas of specialization and research interests include applied behavior analysis and pharmacological interventions used to manage emotional and behavioral disorders. Dr. Balan frequently teaches Classroom and Behavior Management I, Classroom and Behavior Management II, and Pharmacological Intervention in Special Education. She was the Director of a five-year State of Ohio Improvement Grant aimed at increasing the capacity of school personnel to address the behavioral needs of all students. In 2002, Dr. Balan was selected as the recipient of the Kent State University Outstanding Teaching Award.
Dr. Lyle Barton
Professorlbarton@kent.edu
405L White Hall
Area: LDES
I received my Ed.D. in Special Education from Northern Illinois University. I came to Kent State from the University of Alberta in 1984. I have served KSU as a past Assistant and Associate Dean of the College and Graduate School of Education and as a past Associate Dean of Libraries. I currently serve as a Professor of Special Education with my teaching focus in research, behavior analysis and persons with severe disabilities (i.e., Moderate/Intensive). My research interests are single-subject research design, applied behavior analysis, technology applications, and web based instruction. I frequently teach courses in single-subject research design, curriculum moderate/ intensive, special topics seminar in SPED, and Classroom Behavior Management in the summer. I have been director or co-director of 33 grants funded for a total of $4.5M. My work has been published in many refereed journals, some of which include, Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, Behavior Therapist, Analysis and Intervention in Developmental Disabilities, JASH, Exceptional Children, Mental Retardation & Learning Disabilities Bulletin, Mental Retardation, CHANGE, Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness, Education of the Visually Handicapped, and the Journal of Mental Deficiency Research. I have also contributed 16 book chapters and have presented more than 150 papers at national or international conferences. Some of my most satisfying work has been collaborative research projects with my doctoral, masters and undergraduate students.
Dr. Sloane Burgess
Assistant Professorsburges8@kent.edu
406G
Area: HS - LDES
After graduating with my B.A. in psychology, I took a job working at a residential program for children who had been removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. There I met a child unlike any I had ever met before; he loved to spell but barely spoke, didn't seem interested in developing friendships but enjoyed predictable interaction routines, and could, and frequently did, curl himself into a tiny ball and hide in small cubbies and crevices. Although I did not know it then, I learned during my graduate studies that he most likely was a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I was intrigued by this young man and as part of my graduate coursework had the opportunity to participate in an NIMH sponsored internship with the TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and related Communication handicapped CHildren) Program in Chapel Hill, working with individual with ASD. Upon graduation, I worked as a TEACCH Psychoeducational Specialist in Asheville, North Carolina for 10 years. During this time, I had the opportunity to work with individuals with ASD of all ages and their families in a variety of roles and settings. I came to Northeast Ohio to complete my doctoral degree and continued to work with individual with ASD, and their families and the professionals who support them, as an Educational Consultant. I currently serve as an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment between the departments of Special Education and Speech Pathology and Audiology at the Kent Campus. My research and professional interests include understanding how individuals with ASD evaluate their quality of life and predictors of positive ratings of quality of life, the implementation of visual strategies to support learning, positive behavior, and communication skills in school-aged students with ASD, lifespan support for individuals with ASD, and the efficacy of early intervention programs for preschool aged students with ASD.
Sanna Harjusola-Webb, Ph.D
Assistant Professorshwebb
220 White Hall
Area: LDES
Sanna Harjusola-Webb, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Special Education, received her doctorate in early childhood special education from the University of Kansas. She is a new faculty member at Kent State University. For the past six years, she has been involved in several federally funded projects at the Juniper Gardens Children's Project working with young children and their caregivers. She has experience in naturalistic language and communication interventions with infants and toddlers, community-based collaborative training programs, and early childhood professional development. Her research interests include prevention and early intervention for young children, language and communication interventions, evidence-based practices, and issues related to intervention effectiveness and fidelity.
Dr. Pamela Luft, Ph.D.
Associate Professorpluft@kent.edu
405 White Hall
Area: LDES
vita [pdf] | http://tspt.educ.kent.edu
Pamela Luft is an Associate Professor of Special Education (Deaf Education and Moderate/Severe Disabilities) at Kent State University in Ohio. She received her M.S. in Technology for Persons with Disabilities from the Johns Hopkins University and her Ph.D. from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Special Education. She worked in a variety of school settings for 15 years before getting her doctorate. Her research and grant focus is on transition services and has an OSEP transition grant and an RSA rehabilitation for the deaf grant. She has published on issues related to transition, technology employment of persons with disabilities, special education policy and instructional practices.
Becky Morsefield
Instructorrmorsefi@kent.edu
405 White Hall
Area: LDES
I graduated from Kent State University in with a degree in secondary education- comprehensive science. I enjoyed teaching chemistry, physics, environmental science and biology for ten years. When our first child was born, she was diagnosed with Down syndrome shortly after birth. Our family was suddenly introduced the world of special education. I returned to Kent State to pursue a master's degree in special education. I received a training fellowship in early intervention and worked at the Family Child Learning Center providing direct services for families, training and supervising students. I graduated in 1997 with a master's degree in special education. After graduation I worked for the Portage County Early Intervention Collaborative as a service coordinator. I began teaching at Kent State in 1998 in the special education and early childhood departments and supervising student teachers. I bring to teaching a family perspective on early intervention, assessment as it relates to the IEP process, inclusive education, transition and family and professional partnerships. I have served on the Portage County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities for the past tweleve years.
Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontczak
Professorkprettif@kent.edu
220a 405 White Hall
Area:
vita [pdf] | http://ehhs.kent.edu/ecis
Dr. Kristie Pretti-Frontzcak is an Associate Professor in early childhood intervention, in the Department of Educational Foundations and Special Services at Kent State University (KSU). Kristie received her doctorate in early intervention from the University of Oregon and has extensive experience in preparing preservice and inservice personnel in recommended practices for working with young children and their families. She directs the Early Childhood Intervention Specialist Program at KSU, where she is responsible for preparing preservice teachers to work with children with disabilities from birth to age eight. Kristie frequency provides training and technical assistance to programs interested in the Assessment, Evaluation and Programming System (AEPS), Activity-Based Intervention (ABI), and creating legally defensible and meaningful individualized education plans (IEPs). Her lines of research center on using authentic assessment practices for accountability and programming (specifically on the utility of the AEPS), effective approaches to working with young children in inclusive settings (specifically regarding the efficacy of an activity-based approach and the application of universal design for learning principles), and the link between assessment, individualized goals, and quality curriculum.
Leah Subak
Instructorlsubak@kent.edu
405 White Hall
Area: EFSS
Leah Subak has been an NTT in the Educational Interpreting Program in Educational Foundations and Special Services since the fall of 2003. Prior to that, she was the coordinator and lead faculty member at the University of Akron's Interpreter Preparation Program. Leah has her BA in Speech/Language Pathology and Audiology from the University of Akron and her MA in Deaf Education from Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., the world's only liberal arts institution for Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals. She also holds a certificate of Teaching ASL/ Teaching Interpreting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Interpreting credentials include: The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Interpretation Certificate and Transliteration Certificate (IC/TC), 1986; The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Certificate of Interpretation and Certificate of Transliteration (CI/CT0, 1989; National Association of the Deaf Level IV/V, 2001. Leah has been interpreting since 1980 and has interpreted in a variety of settings which include; educational; corporate; legal; medical and community. She has interpreted for Nancy Reagan, Barbara Bush, Hillary Clinton, among others. Presentations include workshops and conferences in Ohio and in the U.S. She has held various offices in professional interpreting organizations and has chaired several state and regional conferences. She is married with 4 children.
