About Us
Director of Research
Dr. Frederick is a tenured professor of psychology with over ten years of teaching experience in both online and in-person settings. Dr. Frederick has coauthored with Dr. Scott Dunbar on A Christian Approach to Work and Family Burnout: Calling, Caring, and Connecting which integrates Christian theological principles with cutting edge I-O Psych research on burnout. Drs. Frederick and Dunbar currently have a second book, Identity, Calling, and Workplace Spirituality: Meaning Making and Developing Career Fit under review with Lexington Books. Dr. Frederick has been published in a variety of journals. Most recently, Drs. Dunbar, Thai, and Frederick have been investigating religious coping, differentiation of self, and burnout. In the fall of 2021, Dr. Frederick joined Drs. Jack and Judith Balswick for the 5th revision of their classic text, The Family: A Christian Perspective on the Contemporary Home.
Center Director
Dr. Yvonne Thai earned her PhD in Sociology from UC Riverside where she specialized in social psychology as well as organizations and institutions. Dr. Thai is a Tenured Professor of Sociology and served as department chair of Behavioral Sciences. She is also a curriculum developer, having helped create both undergraduate and graduate level programs in the social sciences. Her research started in understanding morality and altruism; however, in recent years, they have shifted in focus to examine the issues of burnout and emotional labor particularly among service workers including pastors and early childhood educators. Together with Dr. Frederick and Dr. Dunbar, she has coauthored numerous works on the area of pastoral burnout. In addition to publishing and presenting in these areas, Dr. Thai is also on the editorial review team for MDPI Social Sciences and other behavioral science-oriented journals.
Director of Community Engagement
Dr. Dunbar is a Tenured Associate Professor and administered master and doctoral level degree programs. Dr. Dunbar has been published in a variety of academic journals and his research revolves around the topics of burnout, work-family balance, and work-family conflict. His publications are largely interdisciplinary and are often categorized in the realm of Industrial-Organizational Psychology. Dr. Dunbar, along with Dr. Frederick and Dr. Thai, completed a theoretical work on Calling, Caring, Connecting, on Burnout among Clergy that was recently published in an edition of Mental Health, Religion, and Culture. Additionally, our team recently published Coping with Pastoral Burnout Using Christian Contemplative Practices with Religions (https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/6/378). Dr. Dunbar continues to publish original research and books on the topic of burnout related to higher education, pastors, and the concrete industry.