Current Dissertation Defenses

Candidate: Kemmel Palmer
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Title: Historically Minoritized Racial Groups at a Midwestern University: Behaviors, Attitudes, & Beliefs Toward Mental Health and Well-being
Committee: Dr. Gary Bischof, Chair, Dr. Olivia Ngadjui, Dr. Eric Archer
Time/Place: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 11:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Rebecca Sevin
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Sociology
Title: Diagnosis by Algorithm: The Transformative Impact of Social Media–Driven ADHD Self-Diagnosis for Women Over 30 and the Proposal of Neurotype Strain Theory
Committee: Dr. Whitney DeCamp, Chair, Dr. Zoann Synder, Dr. Elena Gapova, Dr. Glenn Tsunokai
Time/Place: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Leandra Burke
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Public Affairs and Administration
Title: Framing the Problem to Fit the Policy Solution: An Embedded Mixed Methods Case Study of the 2017 Michigan Opioid Laws
Committee: Dr. Daniela Schrӧter, Chair, Dr. Matthew Mingus, Dr. Prentiss Jones
Time/Place: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 3 to 5 p.m., 3303 Friedmann Hall

Candidate: Sandra D. Espinoza Montes
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Title: Mexican Americans’ Attitudes Toward Mexican Immigrants in the United States
Committee: Dr. Samuel Beasley, Chair, Dr. Mary Z. Anderson, Dr. Shannon Chavez-Korell
Time/Place: Friday, May 30, 2025, 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., Virtual meeting

June 2025

Candidate: Devin Willis
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Title: “It Can Be Hard To Stand Up Straight In A Crooked Room:” Examining the Relationships Between Black Women’s Internalization of Gendered Racial Stereotypes, Gender Racial Identity, and Collective Coping
Committee: Dr. Mark St. Martin, Chair, Dr. Mary Z. Anderson, Dr. Mariam Konaté, Dr. Martinique Jones
Time/Place: Friday, June 6, 2025, 10 a.m. to noon, Virtual meeting

Candidate: Muhammad Ishtiaq
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Economics
Title: Socio-economic Impacts of Natural and Political Shocks
Committee: Dr. Christine Moser, Chair, Dr. Susan Pozo, Dr. Paul Clements
Time/Place: Monday, June 9, 2025, Noon to 2 p.m., 5302 Friedmann Hall

Candidate: Felicia Diaz
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Psychology
Title: Examination of the Association between Caregiver Beliefs about Childhood Unintentional Injury and Supervision Behavior
Committee: Dr. Amy Damashek, Chair, Dr. Scott Gaynor, Dr. Amy Naugle, Dr. Bryce Hella
Time/Place: Monday, June 9, 2025, 2 to 4 p.m., Virtual meeting

Candidate: Chi Kin Tam
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Physics
Title: Probing Properties of Nuclear Matter with Heavy-Ion Collisions
Committee: Dr. Zbigniew Chajecki, Chair, Dr. Elena Litvinova, Dr. Asghar Kayani, Dr. Giuseppe Verde
Time/Place: Monday, June 16, 2025, 1 to 3 p.m., 2202 Everett Tower

Candidate: Zhiyao Zhang
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Chemistry
Title: Mechanistic and Evolutionary Insights into a Group of Nicotine and Hydroxynicotine Degrading Flavoenzymes
Committee: Dr. Frederick Stull, Chair, Dr. Todd Barkman, Dr. David Huffman, Dr. Benjamin Koestler
Time/Place: Tuesday, June 24, 2025, 2 to 4 p.m., 1260 Chemistry Building

Candidate: Emile N. Van Meter
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Chemistry
Title: The Development of High Throughput Screening Assays for the Identification of Small Molecule Modulators of the pri-miR-18a--hnRNP A1 Interaction
Committee: Dr. Frederick Stull, Co-Chair, Dr. Kelly Teske, Co-Chair, Dr. Alex Davies, Dr. John Spitsbergen
Time/Place: Monday, June 30, 2025, 1 to 3 p.m., 1220 Chemistry Building

Candidate: Queen Roach
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Mallinson Institute for Science Education
Title: Developing and Testing an Instrument to Diagnose and Measure Change in Conceptual Understanding of ENSO Among Undergraduates
Committee: Dr. William Cobern, Chair, Dr. Heather Petcovic, Dr. Lei Meng
Time/Place: Monday, June 30, 2025, 6 to 8 p.m., 1408 Wood Hall

July 2025

Candidate: Lampros Tzianos
For the degree of: Doctor of Philosophy
Department: Chemistry
Title: Graphical Spectral Deconvolution and Ultrafast Spectroscopy of Electrostatically Bound Chromophore-Polyoxometalate Complexes
Committee: Dr. Ramakrishna Guda, Chair, Dr. Gellert Mezei, Dr. Andre Venter, Dr. Qingliu Wu
Time/Place: Wednesday, July 2, 2025, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1260 Chemistry Building

Previous dissertation defenses have been digitized and archived by the Western Michigan University Libraries ScholarWorks Dissertations page. Use the advance search located on the left side of the page to get dissertations sorted by author, subject, department, year published, and more.