Holly L. Angelique, Ph.D.

I joined Penn State Harrisburg in 1996 and have served the college in a number of roles, including as a faculty member, a coordinator of the M.A. program in community psychology and social change, chair of programs in social sciences and psychology, interim director of the School of Behavioral Sciences and Education, and now as the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs.

As the Assistant Dean, I oversee areas including academic advising, learning centers, continuing education, the Center for Teaching Excellence, honors programs, international programs, the registrar, and activities related to World Campus.

My research focuses on two substantive areas of inquiry, community decision-making around environmental issues, and feminist psychology. My environmental research has focused primarily on anti-nuclear grassroots organizing at Three Mile Island in Middletown, Pennsylvania, the site of the worst commercial nuclear accident in the U.S. in 1979. I have published work on gendered experiences, community narratives, citizen participation, media framing of dissent, and historical memory at Three Mile Island. My recent work focuses on social power dynamics regarding environmental regulations involving nuclear power. I have also analyzed children’s responses to environmental disasters and studies barriers and catalysts to fostering pro-environmental behavior.

My research has been published in such journals as American Journal of Community Psychology, Journal of Community Psychology, Community Mental Health Journal, Gender and Society and Humanity and Society. I also co-authored the chapter on community psychology in the U.S. for the first textbook on international community psychology and my work has been published in international journals, including the Australian Community Psychologist, Pratiques Psychologiques, Antropologi Indonesia and the International Journal of Lifelong Education.

My primary professional membership is in the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association), where I have been elected to many leadership roles, including Secretary of the Executive Council of SCRA, a founding member of the Council of Education Programs in SCRA, and two, three-year terms as Chair of the Standing Committee on Women. I was also a founding member of the Environmental Issues Interest group. I co-edited two special issues of Journal of Community Psychology, one focused on feminist community psychology and another on organizational studies in community psychology, and I co-edited the Women’s Column of The Community Psychologist for many years.

I am proud to call Penn State Harrisburg my academic home. I have been here for over two decades and it has been the sole focus of my post-graduate career.