Meet our Faculty
- Firmin, Michael (Chair)
- Abbas, Robert
- Becknell, Milton
- Dolph, Charles
- Fox, Cosette
- Hwang, Chi-en
- Tse, Luke
Michael Firmin (Chair)
Dr. Firmin serves as the Chairman of the Department of Psychology. He earned his Ph.D. from Syracuse University and has been at Cedarville since 1998. Dr. Firmin has been a full-time psychology professor since 1988 and also served as Director of Graduate Studies prior to coming to Cedarville. He teaches General Psychology and Research Design. He has over 100 research papers presented at national conferences and 40 journal publications, and Dr. Firmin has particular interests in helping students prepare for graduate school.
Dr. Firmin is a National Certified Counselor and licensed psychologist.
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 teaches the course Behavioral Problems in Children and also heads the psychology intership. His personal interests include biking, traveling, hiking, and camping.
Milton Becknell
Dr. Becknell serves as Associate Professor of Psychology and teaches Health Psychology, Physiological Psychology, Personality, Testing and Measurement, Medications and Behavior, and Adult Development and Aging. 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 as an Army nurse and retired as a Major from the Air Force where he worked as a clinical psychologist. He completed a post-doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Health Psychology and in 2001 was awarded Diplomate status by the American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) in Clinical Health Psychology. Dr. Becknell is a licensed psychologist in the State of Ohio and 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.
Charles Dolph
Dr. Dolph serves as Professor of Psychology and teaches Orientation to Psychology, Abnormal Psychology, Intimate Relationships, Human Sexuality, Lit Sem, 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.
Cosette Fox
Dr. Cosette Fox serves as Assistant Professor of Psychology and teaches Cross Cultural Psychology, Human Development Lifespan, Learning & Cognition, and Senior Research Project. 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. In 2005, Dr. Fox led a group of students to work at an orphanage in Ukraine for two weeks in the context of a course called 'Psychological Research Practicum.'
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.
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, 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.
