Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Education
2019
Bio:
Dr. Carol Weisfeld began her career with the university when she was hired as an Assistant Professor of Psychology, Mercy College of Detroit in 1978, earned promotion to Associate Professor in 1984, the became a full Professor in 1990. In 1990 Mercy College of Detroit and University of Detroit consolidated to form University of Detroit Mercy where Dr. Weisfeld taught until her retirement in 2018. Prior to joining the university, Dr. Weisfeld served as an Adjunct Instructor, Department of Family and Consumer Resources, Wayne State University, Detroit MI; an Adjunct Instructor, Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit MI; and Teacher, St. Cecilia and St. Clotilde Elementary Schools, Chicago IL.
During her tenure with the university, Dr. Weisfeld taught courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level including Introductory Psychology, Lifespan Development, Research in Infancy (co-designed), Child and Adolescent Development, Adult Development and Aging, Introductory Statistics, Physiological Psychology, Health Psychology, Human Sexuality, Death and Dying, Sex Differences and Sex Roles (Honors course), Cross-Cultural Socialization, Family and Society (co-designed), and Government and Families (co-designed).
In the emerita nomination letter, Dr. Steven Abell, Professor and Interim Chair of Psychology, wrote “In terms of teaching, Dr. Weisfeld has taught over a dozen different university courses, at every level from introductory undergraduate courses to advanced graduate seminars for doctoral students. At every level of instruction she has been successful, so that over the past two decades I have heard nothing but consistent praise from students about her work in the classroom. While she has a reputation for academic rigor, students often tell me how much they find her presentations in class to be both interesting and thoughtful, and how dedicated she is to developing the critical thinking of her students. In fact, Psychology Department faculty have so much confidence in Dr. Weisfeld’s abilities as an Instructor, that when we have needed a senior level professor to serve as a formal teaching mentor to new faculty or to advanced graduate students who are gaining teaching experience, she is generally the first person that we have called upon. She has been very helpful in these situations, which I believe demonstrates both her excellence in the classroom and her profound commitment to higher education and the success of our enterprise.”
Over Dr. Weisfeld’s tenure with the college/university she has received many academic honors and grants. Grants have included research grants from Detroit Mercy Women’s and Gender Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Education, and Faculty Development program; externally, grants were received from Michigan AAUP Faculty Forum on Tenure; APA Science Directorate for Festschrift for Daniel G. Freedman, University of Chicago; Michigan AAUP Faculty Forum on Academic Freedom; Honors Peer Tutoring Program from Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Dept. of Education; participation in the NATO Advanced Study Institute on Methods of Research in Nonverbal Communication, London England; and, NIH
Child Development Trainee, University of Chicago. Dr. Weisfeld received the Detroit Mercy Distinguished Faculty Award, President’s Award for Faculty Excellence, and a sabbatical from Mercy College for study at University of London Goldsmiths’ College.
Dean Mark Denham of the College of Liberal Arts and Education in his emerita support letter wrote “Dr. Weisfeld has made a consistent ‘noteworthy contribution to her academic discipline.’ Over each year of her career she has on average produced one article or book chapter and well over one and a half posters or presentations. Her most recent scholarship is the publication of a co-edited volume where she is co-author of five chapters and contributors include many Detroit Mercy faculty, as well as numerous alumni.” More specifically, Dr. Weisfeld’s publication record includes over 40 scholarly articles and book chapters and two co-edited books. Over 500 times her works have been cited by other scholars in her field.
Dr. Weisfeld’s co-authored books included The Mysteries of Marriage, Getting Started: The Construction, Properties, and Applications of the MARQ, The Changing Family in China, The American Families in the 21st Century, Toward a Model of Marriage, and Uniting Psychology and Biology: Integrative Perspectives on Human Development. Journal article include subject such as: frequency of infidelity, marriage, marital conflict, healthy respect for sex differences, sexual fulfillment without marriage, marital satisfaction across cultures, analysis of gender differences in married couples nonverbal behaviors, British marriages, dominance hierarchy model, and nonverbal communication.
The vitae provided by Dr. Weisfeld lists fifty-five (55) presentations between 1976 and 2018 given regionally, nationally, and internationally. Presentations include subjects such as marital satisfaction across cultures, athlete psychological health and recovery from injury, sex differences in marriage, similarities and differences between heterosexual and homosexual couples based on MARQ data, long-term partnership, look at love, humor in marriage in five cultures, teaching evolutionary psychology, using principles of psychology to organize the community, marital power dynamics, marital satisfaction in Britain, dominance among adolescent boys, and playground behavior as function of rank.
In addition to her excellence in teaching and scholarship, Dr. Abell, wrote “Dr. Weisfeld has shown tremendous leadership in the areas of university and community service. It is difficult for me to think of another faculty member at Detroit Mercy who has been chosen so repeatedly by colleagues to serve in key leadership roles. During her career at Detroit Mercy, Dr. Weisfeld was Coordinator of the University Honors Program for nine years, President of the University of Detroit Mercy Professor’s Union for six years, and served as the first President of the McNichols Faculty Assembly.”
Touching on some of Dr. Weisfeld’s activities as a citizen in the community: for the Riverfront East Alliance (REAL) she served as vice president, newsletter editor, and helped in writing reports/recommendations for the office of the Mayor of Detroit; for Motor Cities Auto National Heritage Area which partners with the National Park Service to preserve buildings and local history related to the auto industry she served on community focus group, assisted with HAER students researching area, and volunteered at the Auto Show, Cobo Center; for the Mercy Education Project which provides tutoring and education for girls and women she served as a Board member and on the Site Search Committee; for Reconstructionist Congregation of Detroit, a synagogue in Detroit with a particular mission of preserving and enlivening Jewish history in Detroit Dr. Weisfeld served as a Board member, Secretary, President, co-chair of Education Committee, and co-author of children’s educational coloring book; for Michigan Jewish History Society she served on the Youth Education Committee and Society Board; and for Friends School in Detroit she was a member of the Build the Gym-for-all Group with UDM’s Design Center.
With an earned Bachelor of Arts in English from St. Xavier College, Chicago, Dr. Weisfeld continued her education taking courses in psychology at the University of Illinois and DePaul University, Chicago following up with a Master of Arts in Human Development and a Ph.D. in Human Development both earned at the University of Chicago.
Citation:
Dr. Weisfeld’s nomination for Professor Emerita status was approved and conferred by Dr. Antoine M. Garibaldi, President of the University of Detroit Mercy on August 19, 2019.