Paula Biedenharn
Associate Professor of Psychology
pbiedenh@aurora.edu
630-844-4202

Paula J. Biedenharn, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Aurora University. “Dr. Paula” has been at AU since August of 2004. Prior to coming to Aurora, she taught at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi for 11 years. She received her Masters and Doctoral degrees in Developmental Psychology, with a specialization in Gerontology, from the University of Notre Dame. For her undergraduate education, she attended Washington University in St. Louis where she double majored in Psychology and Sociology. Dr. Biedenharn’s research interests and projects include Barriers to Care: Ethnic differences in elderly attitudes toward mental health care (research in progress), A 10 year Comparison of People’s Fear of Litigation (manuscript in preparation), Perceptions of nursing homes in the Mexican-American community (manuscript in preparation), and A Grave Affair: Celebrating the Days of the Dead in Oaxaca, Mexico (book under review). Her publications include “Known and unproven herbal treatments for psychological disorders,” “Reactions to the nursing home: Community, resident and family perspectives on long term care,” “Reaction du pensionnaire et de son entourage lors des premiers mois d'un placement en maison de retraite,” and “Elderly community residents' reactions to the nursing home: An analysis of their nursing home-related beliefs.”

Valerie Flynn
Professor of Psychology
vflynn@aurora.edu
630-844-6531

Valerie Flynn, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Aurora University. She received her Masters at Columbia University in clinical psychology and psychoeducational practice, with a specialization in neuroscience. Her doctoral work was completed at Northern Illinois University in the areas of school and developmental psychology. As a school psychologist she has worked with infant, child, and adolescent populations, offering intervention and diagnostic services for a wide array of psychological and educational needs. The focus of Dr. Flynn’s research is parent-child interactions in relation to children’s cognitive and social development. Recent publications include a longitudinal study of maternal responsive and directive behaviors as predictors of children’s vocabulary development, and an exploration of internal versus external explanations for individual differences in children’s use of imitation. She is currently looking at mother-infant play interactions in low SES households and examining the role of television in the lives of 1 and 2-year-olds growing up in contemporary American families.

Renae Franiuk
Chair of Psychology Department
Associate Professor
rfraniuk@aurora.edu
630-844-3692

Renae Franiuk, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Aurora University. Dr. Franiuk has been at Aurora University since the fall of 2005. She received her master’s and doctorate degrees in Social Psychology from the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign in 2002 and spent three years as an Assistant Professor in Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point before coming to Aurora. Dr. Franiuk’s primary research interests are romantic relationships (e.g., should you be looking for your soulmate?) and gender issues (e.g., sexual assault, parenting and gender roles).

Dr. Franiuk’s web page can be viewed at mail.aurora.edu/~rfraniuk.

Elizabeth Gabel
Visiting Assistant Professor of Psychology
egabel@aurora.edu
630-844-5687

Elizabeth Gabel received her Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in 2007, with a concentration in Forensic Psychology. Dr. Gabel's dissertation was entitled, "Bulling behaviors in middle and high school students: Grade, gender, and ethnic differences."  Prior to working at Aurora University full time, Dr. Gabel engaged in clinical work with an emphasis on psychological assessment and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Dr. Gabel's research interests include the psychosocial effects of bullying behaviors on both the bully and victim.

Christina Krause
Associate Professor of Psychology
ckrause@aurora.edu
630-844-5781

Dr. Krause received her undergraduate degree in Psychology from Aurora University, and earned her master and doctorate degrees from Northern Illinois University.  Her degree is in Developmental Psychology, with a certificate in gerontology. She taught at Northern Illinois University and at Aurora University when she was a graduate student, and taught at NIU after she finished her doctorate degree.  Additionally, she has enjoyed teaching at AU since 1994.  Her research has been in the areas of children’s cognitive understanding of deceptive objects (such as a magnet that appears to be a Hershey’s “kiss”) and adults’ perceptions of personal control during times of adjustments and transitions. She is the research director of a longitudinal research study examining the effects of a multidisciplinary team intervention which is focused on helping individuals who are dealing with multiple, chronic conditions.  She has published articles on both research projects, and has had a book chapter regarding the intervention program published by Nova Science. 

David J. Rudek
Assistant Professor of Psychology
drudek@aurora.edu
630-844-7857

David J. Rudek, Ph.D., has been teaching at Aurora University since the fall of 2007. He earned his Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Loyola University Chicago in 2004 and taught for three years at Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota. His research has mostly focused on preschool-aged children’s mnemonic abilities, event memory, and knowledge about factors important in remembering. This work has revealed large individual differences in how parents engage their children in social interactions (e.g., telling collective narratives, storybook reading) and has illustrated how these interactions contribute to children’s early memory skills.