Susan McMahon

Susan Dvorak McMahon, Ph.D., is Associate Dean for Research and Vincent DePaul Professor of Clinical and Community Psychology at DePaul University. She is Past President, fellow, and recipient of the Outstanding Educator Award for the Society for Community Research and Action (Division 27 of the American Psychological Association) and a Public Voices Fellow through the OpEd Project. Dr. McMahon has over 80 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters, over 200 conference presentations, and over 6,100 citations according to Google Scholar. Her research focuses on educator and student experiences with violence, school climate, risk and protective factors across multiple ecological levels, and enhancing our educational systems.

Dr. McMahon is a member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Task Force on Teacher-Directed Violence, which surveyed over 3,000 teachers across the United States. The Task Force has published over 10 papers on teachers’ experiences, including investigations of types of violence teachers experience across different demographics, triggers and consequences of verbal and physical aggression, multiple victimization, reactions to violence, and administrative support. Dr. McMahon is now chairing a new APA Task Force on Violence Against Educators that will assess educator, administrator, school psychologist, and school social work experiences with violence, ecological and contextual issues, school climate, and practices and policies used to address and prevent violence. The results of this study will inform practices, policies, and research at the local, state, and national levels.