L. Mickey Fenzel, Ph.D.
Professor, Teacher Education
Affiliate Professor, Psychology Department
Loyola University Maryland
School of Education
2034 Greenspring Drive
Room 50A
Timonium, MD 21093
410-617-2640
LFenzel@loyola.edu
Education
Ph.D. - Cornell University (Developmental Psychology)
M.A. - Loyola College (Clinical Psychology)
M.B.A. - Cornell University
B.S. - Cornell University (Operations Research)
Bio
Dr. Fenzel was a middle school and high school mathematics teacher over a 12-year period during which time he also served as varsity lacrosse coach at Ithaca High School and the Gilman School. After he received his doctorate in developmental psychology, he served as an assistant professor in teacher education at San Diego State University for a year before being hired in the psychology department at Loyola. Before joining the education department in 2001, Dr. Fenzel also served as assistant vice president for student development at Loyola. He has also served as chair of teacher education and associate dean of the School of Education. He has four grown children and three grandchildren.
Much of Dr. Fenzel’s research has focused on the middle school as a context for young adolescent development. His early work used a stress-and-coping framework for examining the effects of the transition from elementary to middle school. More recently, he has examined the factors that contribute to the success of NativityMiguel Schools, alternative independent urban middle schools that provide an accelerated academic program for students placed at risk that also caters to their social, emotional, and spiritual development. Dr. Fenzel has also examined the effects of participation in service-learning on changes in college students’ attitudes related to social justice and racism and the predictors of and effects of substance abuse among college students.
Dr. Fenzel's recent opinion piece, "What do mass shootings say about America's heart and soul?" was published in the Baltimore Sun and is available here .
Awards and Grants
2011, with Cathy Rosensteel, Race to the Top grant from the Maryland State Department of Education to prepare teachers for urban schools.
2010 Alpha Sigma Nu book award
2010 Loyola Faculty Award for Excellence in Service-Learning and Engaged Scholarship
2007 Kolvenbach Faculty Research Grant
Research Interests
Effective urban middle schools
Transition from elementary to middle school
Changes in college student social justice and diversity attitudes and perceptions in service-learning courses
Predictors and consequences of substance abuse among college students
Relation of spirituality to adjustment and well-being among college students
Path modeling of the stress process
Recent Publications
Book
Fenzel, L. M. (2009). Improving urban middle schools: Lessons from the Nativity schools. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Published Articles
Fenzel, L. M., & Dean, R. J. (2011). Changes in students’ social justice and racial attitudes in an undergraduate child psychology service-learning course. Journal of Research on Service-Learning and Teacher Education, 1(2), 20-30.
Fenzel, L. M., & Domingues, J. (2009). Educating urban African American children placed at risk: A comparison of two types of parochial middle schools, Catholic Education: A Journal of Inquiry and Practice, 13, 30-52.
Fenzel, L. M. (2009). Effective alternative urban middle schools: Findings from research on NativityMiguel schools. Middle Grades Research Journal, 4(3), 1-18.
Litchka, P., Fenzel, M., & Polka, W. (2009). The stress process among superintendents. International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation, 4(4), 1-7.
Fenzel, L. M., & Monteith, R. H. (2008). Successful alternative middle schools for urban minority children: A study of Nativity schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 13, 381-401.
Invited Chapters
Fenzel, L. M. (2012, in press). Achievement in faith-based schools. In J. A. C. Hattie & E. M. Anderman (Eds.), International handbook on student achievement. Routledge.
Fenzel, L. M. (2010). Effective alternative urban middle schools: Findings from research on NativityMiguel schools. In D. Hough (Ed.), Research supporting middle grades practice. Information Age Publishing.
Professional Activities/Society Memberships
Editorial board of Journal of Early Adolescence
Member: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, National Middle School Association, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Edcuation (AACTE), The Association of Independent Liberal Arts Colleges for Teacher Education (AILACTE), Association of Jusuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) Deans and Directors of Education