Meet Our Personnel

• Becknell, Milton (Chair)
• Abbas, Robert
• Burger, Amanda
• Dolph, Charles
• Firmin, Michael
• Fox, Cosette
• Hwang, Chi-en
• McFarlane, Kay
• Tse, Luke

Milton Becknell (Chair)

Dr. Becknell serves as Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychology. He teaches Health Psychology, Personality, Testing and Measurement, Medications and Behavior, Adult Development and Aging, and Abnormal Psychology. He began his career as a Registered Nurse (1977) and went on to complete his Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1989. He worked initially as an Army nurse, then after doctoral training in psychology, as a clinical psychologist in the Air Force where he retired as a Major. He completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology in 1997 and was awarded Diplomate status by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) in Clinical Health Psychology in 2001. Dr. Becknell is a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio. His clinical / research interests include: psychophysiological disorders (e.g. headache, chronic pain, TMJ, irritable bowel syndrome), insomnia, weight management, exercise adherence, and self-regulation training with relaxation and biofeedback. He has been at Cedarville as an adjunct professor since 2002 and has been full-time since Fall 2004.

Robert Abbas

Dr. Abbas serves as Professor Emeritus of Psychology. He earned his M.A. from the University of Northern Colorado (1965) and his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri, Columbia (1972). Dr. Abbas is a licensed psychologist in the state of Ohio. He has counseled in the areas of personal development and child and family therapy. He currently serves as adjunct professor, teaching the Behavioral Problems in Children course. His personal interests include biking, traveling, hiking, and camping.

Amanda Burger

Ms. Amanda Burger serves as Instructor of Psychology. Ms. Burger joined the Cedarville faculty in the fall of 2008, and her teaching responsibilities include General Psychology, Child and Adolescent Development, and Senior Research Project. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Cedarville University in 2004, received her Master’s degree in Clinical Psychology in December, 2007, from Wayne State University, and is currently completing her doctoral studies at Wayne State University.

Charles Dolph

Dr. Dolph serves as Professor of Psychology. He heads the psychology internship program and teaches Orientation to Psychology, Intimate Relationships, Human Sexuality, Literature Seminar, and Social Psychology. He received his Ph.D. from Georgia State University in 1982 and has taught at Cedarville since 1979. His primary interests are spiritual and social contributors to health and illness. Dr. Dolph works with long-term care facilities and hospices to meet the psychological needs of ill and dying persons. He is the advisor to Psi Kappa Theta, the student psychology club.

Michael Firmin

Dr. Firmin serves as Professor of Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University, has been at Cedarville since 1998, and has been a full-time psychology professer since 1988. Dr. Firmin teaches General Psychology and Research Design. He has co-edited two books, co-authored over 140 research papers presented at national research conferences, and has over 60 peer-reviewed publications. Dr. Firmin directs a national qualitative research conference (EQRC) and is editor of the Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research.
Dr. Firmin is a National Certified Counselor and licensed psychologist.

Cosette Fox

Dr. Cosette Fox serves as Assistant Professor of Psychology and teaches Cross Cultural Psychology, Learning & Cognition, and Physiological Psychology.  She earned her B.S. in Biology, her B.A. in Psychology, and her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from University of Ottawa.  Before coming to Cedarville in the Fall of 2006, she completed a postdoctoral fellowship at WPAFB in behavioral/cognitive neuroscience and was part of the psychology faculty at Fresno Pacific University.  Dr. Fox is conducting research studies in collaboration with the University Medical Services on the effect of glucose on memory.

Chi-en Hwang

Dr. Hwang serves as Professor of Psychology and teaches Statistics, Research Methods, and Senior Research Project. She earned her B.S. from the National Taiwan University (1977) and her M.A. (1980) and Ph.D. (1986) from the University of Iowa. Dr. Hwang was born in Taiwan and came to the U.S. in 1977. Before coming to Cedarville, she taught at the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University, and University of Houston. Dr. Hwang has conducted cross-cultural research in areas such as personality type, stress coping, teacher burnout, and in general areas of quantitative research methodology. She has articles published in the Journal of Cross Cultural Psychology, Journal of Social Psychology, and International Journal of Management. She is also actively involved in promoting the undergraduate research projects on campus. Dr. Hwang has been at Cedarville since 1991.

Kay McFarlane

Mrs. Kay McFarlane serves as Secretary in the Department of Psychology. She graduated from Cornerstone University in 1978 with a secretarial degree. Prior to serving at Cedarville, Mrs. McFarlane worked as a legal secretary for the Edson law practice and in support services for Marathon Oil Company and Word of Life Fellowship, Inc. She married Dave McFarlane in 1983, and they have five children. Kay enjoys family time, working with the youth group, playing the piano, knitting, and working in the yard/garden.

Luke Tse

Dr. Tse serves as Associate Professor of Psychology. Dr. Tse was born in Nanjing, China, but spent his childhood primarily in Hong Kong and Singapore before emigrating to the United States of America in 1982. Joining the Cedarville faculty in 2001, his teaching assignments include Fundamentals of Counseling, Group Dynamics, History and Systems in Psychology, Qualitative Research, Family and Couple Interventions, and Counseling Skills. In addition to his Ph.D. in psychology and counseling, Dr. Tse also earned a M.Div. degree from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. While holding the credential as a LA licensed professional counselor (LPC), Dr. Tse also is an ordained minister and former pastor. He brings experience and instruction in Biblical counseling to CU students preparing to impact their worlds for Christ through counseling.