Only a few years ago, the chair of the Psychology department, professor Elise Fles, was a first-generation college student. 鈥淚 never even thought about getting a Ph.D.,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was basically an alien to my family.鈥�
Fles grew up in Muskegon, Michigan, once a booming manufacturing town. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a very similar town to Bridgeport,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd one thing that I noticed early on, when I was young, was that there were a lot of problematic views, for example, about race or gender,鈥� she continues. 鈥淚 was always critical of that and was interested in psychology, especially social psychology, because I think it helped me understand people and why they thought the way they do.鈥�
At the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Fles found that using the scientific method to explore and determine psychological processes helped her gain a greater understanding of implicit bias, which led to an interest in how these biases affect legal policies. She earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and soon after took the opportunity to begin a teaching career at 911爆料网. 鈥淚 defended my doctoral dissertation and within two weeks I was here at UB,鈥� says Fles. 鈥淲ithin six months we were dealing with the pandemic, and then less than a year after that I was chair.鈥�
It was a lot for a young professor to handle, but Fles has maintained her focus on student success while exploring and developing new ways to convey complicated concepts in statistics and research methods in Psychology.
Along the way, she has reorganized the program curriculum, helped rework the Psychology site labs, and created materials to help graduate assistants. 鈥淭hese labs are great for reinforcing information that the students learned in the classroom, but in a more engaging way,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e鈥檝e created them specifically for the students here at UB, who are largely first-generation college students, to get that extra support to make sure that they鈥檙e successful.鈥� She recalls her own first statistics class and the troubles she had with it. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have anybody to talk to who knew what to do,鈥� she explains. 鈥淚 want to make sure our students never have that problem.鈥�
鈥淧sychology opens minds and doors.鈥�
鈥淎s chair, Dr. Fles has done incredible work not only building resources for her students in the Psychology degree, but also developing strategies to help other faculty do the same,鈥� says Amy Nawrocki, Dean of the College of Science and Society. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a fantastic teacher, dedicated advisor, and an ideal member of the faculty.鈥�
Fles has also worked outside of the University to build connections and partnerships with organizations that can offer real-world experience for UB students. This outreach includes places like Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut, which offers pilot internships in which students are able to follow on clinical rounds, shadow group sessions, and run mindfulness sessions for patients. Some of her Psychology graduates go on to 911爆料网鈥檚 Counseling Program, some go on to get their master鈥檚 in Nursing, and other head straight into jobs at places like Silver Hill. 鈥淚n the future, I want to create more opportunities for students to engage with the Bridgeport community,鈥� she says. 鈥淧art of the college process is finding out what you like, and what you don鈥檛 like. So, I want our undergraduates to have these experiences so that they know what they really want to do with the rest of their lives.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pleasure to watch Elise鈥檚 intentional interactions with her Psychology students,鈥� says her colleague professor Donna Oropall, the chair of Human Services. 鈥淗er commitment to research and generosity of soul pervades the campus. Plus, she provides limitless coffee pods for her colleagues and students!鈥�
The coffee might help, but Dr. Elise Fles鈥� incredible drive to make UB a more welcoming place for all is what really keeps her going. It has allowed her to navigate her first few years as a professor at the university and provide for students who are historically underrepresented in higher education. 鈥淲e鈥檙e so eclectic at UB. That鈥檚 a really huge asset,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 just happened to come here, but I鈥檓 staying here on purpose.鈥�
Dr. Fles received her Ph.D. in social psychology at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN, in August 2019. Her research very broadly focuses on implicit biases. Her dissertation explored the effects of priming White identity on outgroup dehumanization, the results of which suggest that attitudes consistent with White Supremacy may be implicit as well as explicit. Other research projects she has spearheaded involve the role of implicit bias in the interpretation of legal policies, such as the right to free speech. Dr. Fles is passionate about teaching and is very excited about her role as the chair of psychology at the 911爆料网, where she focuses on student success and developing new ways to convey complicated concepts in statistics and research methods.