Dr. Ervin Counsels New Major

By Stacey Boris

DOYLESTOWN, Pa. – From an early age, Dr. Audrey Ervin knew that psychology was her calling.

Ervin, a graduate from Central Bucks West, was born and raised in the Doylestown area. During her first psychology class at Central Bucks West, she became fascinated with the subject.

“I knew from 17 years old that I wanted to be a psychologist,” said Ervin.

Ervin specializes in counseling psychology, which is an up and coming major at DVC. Ervin said, “In counseling psychology, we start by looking at what’s right with the person, not what’s wrong.”

Ervin’s goals for the counseling psychology program are to get the word out and have a successful first year of classes. She would also like to take her students to conferences to establish connections in the psychology field. Allison Buskirk-Cohen, Ph.D., assistant professor of counseling psychology, is excited about what Ervin has to offer to the new counseling psychology program.

“She’ll be a huge asset to help grow the program and help current students find great employment opportunities,” said Cohen.

Ervin is passionate about diversity and multiculturalism, which she tries to stress in her classes. She has done clinical and research work in areas like racial identity and sexual orientation. One of her goals for the students of DVC is to teach them how to connect with people from different backgrounds.

“Exposing people to diverse ideas and creative thinking is never a bad thing,” said Ervin.

Ervin’s teaching philosophy is simple: have fun and apply the things you learn to real life. She tries to focus on experiential learning, which is learning from direct experience, “I want to make learning experiences that are meaningful,” said Ervin.

However, learning experiences do not always take place in the classroom. This past summer, Ervin spent her time teaching with the study abroad program Semester at Sea. This “floating university” took 725 college students with limited travel experiences and brought them to eight countries in Europe and North Africa. Each student took 12-15 credits in courses ranging from psychology to physics while doing various projects in the countries they were visiting.

“The part I loved the most was watching students become global citizens,” said Ervin.

Ervin shows passion for her field by staying actively involved in various organizations, such as the Kind Campaign, which looks at why girls are often mean to one another. She is also the National Spokesperson for Women in Psychology.

Ervin got her bachelor’s degree in Psychology at East Stroudsburg University, her masters at Pepperdine University, and her Ph.D. at the University of Memphis. She also did a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Delaware. Before coming to DVC, Ervin taught at Delaware County Community College.

In her spare time, Ervin enjoys traveling, taking photographs, and taking her dog to the dog park. She joined the DVC faculty this fall but she is no stranger to the college. She and her husband were married in front of Lasker Hall and she has been coming to A-Day since she could walk.