A fresh new face has entered the psychology department — a face that used to grace the classrooms of the University of Nebraska and Penn State — Emilie Beltzer, professor of psychology.
“It’s a very different environment compared to what I’m used to,” Beltzer said. “I love the people here. My colleagues are wonderful as well, and the students are very respectful and hard working.”
Beltzer was raised in Lincoln, Neb. She attended college at the University of Nebraska where she earned her undergraduate degree and doctorate in psychology.
After earning her doctorate, Beltzer spent a few years doing post-doctoral research at Penn State, where she gained a lot of experience working in a large research institution.
“I appreciate the time I spent at the larger research institutions,” Beltzer said. “They just don’t offer what Henderson offers in terms of its intimacy and interpersonal interactions with my students and colleagues.”
Beltzer also did post-doctoral research at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb. While there, she worked in a biomedical laboratory where she studied gene expression in the brain using mice.
She said that she was drawn to Henderson because of the liberal arts atmosphere and the location. She also explained that her experience with the faculty members helped her make up her mind about taking the position.
“I’ve been down south in the past,” Beltzer said. “I’ve always been drawn to the people and the climate. I believe that you always have to meet the people and see the environment to get a true sense of what it’s like, but everything about my first experience here was really nice.”
Beltzer has a four-year-old daughter named Emmry Beltzer Robicheaux. She attends the Davis-Baker preschool, which is also associated with Henderson. In her free time Beltzer likes to take on various do-it-yourself furniture projects where she finds old and worn-down pieces of furniture so that she can fix and clean them up.
“I recently found a couple of old vintage chairs,” Beltzer said. “I painted them and redid them. The main goal is to make them functional again.”
Beltzer said that her interest in psychology has always been there, but her interest in human behavior and the way people work and think didn’t come until later in her life.
As an undergraduate she took a bio-psychology class which helped her realize that she wanted to focus on the biological perspective of psychology. She focuses her research on the understanding of human behavior from a biological standpoint.
“I’m specifically looking at how people respond to stress,” Beltzer said. “I’m looking at how people respond to it physiologically, psychologically and emotionally. I’m trying to figure out the factors that account for differences in how people respond to stress.”
Beltzer feels that she brings a health focused physiological neuroscience focus to the department of psychology.
“I feel that we all complement each other very well,” Beltzer said. “I feel like we all offer diversity in terms of what we study and what we can offer students as their mentors.”
“Dr. Beltzer is doing really well in her new position,” Rebecca Langley, instructor of psychology said. “She fits in really well in our department, in my opinion.”
This semester Beltzer taught statistics and research methods but she does have the option to teach classes in her core area.
“I really love teaching statistics,” Beltzer said. “It’s think it’s a fun and important class to teach but it’s also a challenge for me in trying to get students to enjoy it or find something applicable to it.”
Beltzer likes to focus on making her classes meaningful and applicable. She explained that she likes to help students find a way to relate the material to their personal lives and find a connection with the material.
“I try to provide direction to my students,” Beltzer said. “I try to steer my students in more of a long term direction with their career paths and help them figure out what they need to do to get on a particular career path.”