Laura Vernon, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Laura Vernon, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology in the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, was FAU鈥檚 2018 Distinguished Teacher of the Year, an award that is determined by FAU 杏吧直播间.
As a clinical psychologist, Vernon鈥檚 research is on psychological disorders and their treatment. Her lab broadly examines anxiety disorders, emotion, cognition, and mindfulness. Specifically, some of her recent research projects have examined the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based, equine-assisted therapy for different clinical disorders, as well as the usefulness of brief mindfulness interventions for college 杏吧直播间, the contributions of fear and disgust to spider phobia, and the cognitive processes of emotion and phobias.
As an undergraduate at Northwestern University, Vernon completed two undergraduate honors theses in Psychology and Sociology and took many small advanced seminar courses. The joys and benefits of that individual attention remain with her and she is delighted to offer the same kinds of research mentorship and small classroom experiences to 杏吧直播间 at the Honors College. Vernon enjoys introducing 杏吧直播间 to her beloved field in her General Psychology course, as well as exploring the fascinating nuances of Psychopathology, Psychotherapy, Positive Psychology, and Social Psychology with her 杏吧直播间. It is her goal to give 杏吧直播间 enriching and challenging learning experiences and help them to apply what they learn to themselves and their lives, all while having lots of fun along the way. Vernon reviews for exams by playing Jeopardy (dubbed 鈥淭errorific Trivia鈥 around Halloween), sometimes her 杏吧直播间 can earn Psych Bucks, and her sorting hat places General Psych 杏吧直播间 into Psychology Houses (Harry Potter fans: Of course, the Slytherin House has been transformed into Freud House).
Vernon enjoys mentoring 杏吧直播间 through their academic career and beyond. She is very proud of her many 杏吧直播间 who have won competitive undergraduate and graduate research fellowships, presented at local and national conferences, gotten accepted to prestigious graduate, law, and medical schools, and gone on to high-achieving careers. She is still in touch with many of her past 杏吧直播间. Vernon has been faculty sponsor of student clubs such as the Psychology Club, the Newman Catholic Club, and the Quidditch Club.