Faculty Bios

Glen L. Sherman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Department Chairperson

Dr. Sherman was most recently Associate Vice President and Dean of Students at William Paterson University, where he oversaw multiple student offices in the division of student affairs and previously served as Director of Counseling, Health and Wellness.

Prior to that, he worked as a psychologist in multiple clinical settings, including college counseling, hospital psychiatry (both inpatient and outpatient), and substance abuse treatment. He also worked as a clinical manager in a managed behavioral healthcare company.

He is a clinical psychologist who received his Ph.D. from Duquesne University, an existential-phenomenological program. He also earned an M.A. in philosophy at Binghamton University. He has published several peer-reviewed journal articles and a full-length book exploring the intersection of student affairs and various topics in philosophy and psychology.

Research Interests:

• The evolving meaning of well-being in higher education
• The intersection of existential-phenomenology with higher education
• The potential application of qualitative research methods to social justice issues
• The philosophy of psychology

Christina Liparini, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Psychology and Doctoral Program Director

Dr. Liparini most recently served as an adjunct faculty member at Seton Hall University for over fifteen years, where she taught online and in-person within the masters and doctoral programs. She was recognized as Adjunct Faculty Teacher of the Year for the College of Education and Human Services in 2022. During her time there, Dr. Liparini developed relationships with various community partners including Family Promise, Good Grief and EDGE New Jersey so that doctoral students could engage in social justice work with underserved populations.

She has also worked as a psychologist in several university counseling centers, including William Paterson University, Drew University and Fairleigh Dickinson University. Dr. Liparini completed her APA-accredited pre-doctoral internship at the University of Pennsylvania's Counseling and Psychological Services. She also holds experience working with children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Believing in service to the community, she provides pro-bono consultation and training services to Good Grief and professional development workshops to area school districts.

She earned both her M.A. and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from Seton Hall University.

Research Interests:

• The impact of COVID-19 on the grief experiences of children and adolescents, particularly those from marginalized groups
• Positive and adverse childhood experiences (PACEs)
• Graduate student experiences of departmental climate, promotion of wellness
• The transition to higher education for students with mental health diagnoses

Jill Caruso, Psy.D.
Assistant Professor and Director of the Masters Program

Dr. Caruso joined the Psychology Department full time in 2021 after teaching masters courses as an adjunct professor at SEU since 2015 - PSY620 Helping Relationship in Counseling, PSY633 Counseling Theory and Methods I, PSY641 Psychopathology and Diagnosis. She also taught SEU230 Healthy Living: Mindfulness Wellbeing at the undergraduate level and helped co-develop the course into the present focus on positive psychology.

Dr. Caruso earned a B.A. in Psychology from William Paterson University and an M.A. in School Psychology from Montclair State University. She earned her Psy.D. from SEU in 2017 in the first cohort.

Prior to earning her doctorate, Dr. Caruso was a Regional Analyst with a business/marketing focus and worked as a school psychologist for 10 years, focusing on the mental health, learning and behavior of children and adolescents. Most recently, she was a director in a group counseling practice for past five years, counseling children, adolescents and adults, training staff members on working in the clinical field, as well as completing neuropsychological batteries for children and neurocognitive-deficit testing in adults.

Research Interests:

• Twice exceptional children/adolescents learning styles/behaviors
• Mindfulness in academic and workplace settings
• Positive psychology and the focus on strengths
• Resilience and social justice for underprivileged populations

Steven Hertler, Psy.D.
Assistant Professor and Undergraduate Advisor

Dr. Hertler joined the SEU Psychology Department full time in 2021 after teaching as an adjunct instructor since 2014 – PSY331 Biological Basis of Behavior, PSY706 Physiological Psychology, PSY403 Seminar in Social Psychology and PSY705 Human Learning. Previously, he taught Rorschach Methods, Developmental Psychology, Psychopathology and other courses at Pace University, Caldwell University and the College of New Rochelle.

Dr. Hertler earned a B.S. in Psychology from the State University of New York and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from Pace University. As a licensed psychologist in New York and New Jersey, Dr. Hertler specializes in psychological assessment and diagnosis, and provides legal, educational, vocational, and clinical evaluations through his practice, Psychodiagnostics.

In the capacity of an examining psychologist, Dr. Hertler worked at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center for three grant-funded programs, while also providing assessments for Morristown Memorial Hospital, East Newark Schools and Specialized Therapy Associates.

Research Interests:

• Biologically-based personality variation
• Gene-environment interactions, niche selection, niche construction, experience producing drives, and related interactions between genetic and environmental sources of individual differences
• Cliodynamics, an empirical approach to analyzing historical cycles
• Human evolution and ecology
• Histories documenting evolutionary change resulting from social, industrial and agricultural revolutions, or recorded by warfare, pestilence, migration, famine and related demographically relevant trends

Patricia C. Heindel, Ph.D.
Dean, College of Professional Studies

Dr. Heindel has been with the Psychology Department since 1984. She earned her B.A. from Glassboro State College and her Ph.D. from Rutgers University. Her areas of expertise are Memory, Learning, Research and Statistics, Developmental Psychology and Program Evaluation. Her scholarship focus is Developmental Psychology and Outcomes Assessment.

She is co-director of the School Culture and Climate Initiative in partnership with the Youth Empowerment Alliance of the United Way of Northern New Jersey and is the director of the School Culture and Climate Assessment Lab at SEU. She is currently developing an online Social Emotional Learning Credentialing Program for School Leaders in partnership with Maurice Elias, Ph.D. of Rutgers University.