{"id":654,"date":"2017-11-06T09:30:02","date_gmt":"2017-11-06T17:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/?p=654"},"modified":"2024-04-02T15:01:37","modified_gmt":"2024-04-02T22:01:37","slug":"mary-ellen-dello-stritto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/mary-ellen-dello-stritto\/","title":{"rendered":"Getting to know Mary Ellen Dello Stritto"},"content":{"rendered":"

OSU Ecampus Research Unit assistant director<\/h2>\n
\"Mary

Mary Ellen Dello Stritto has worked for seven universities and colleges\u00a0as a professional, a journey that has\u00a0taken\u00a0her from California to Ohio to Oregon.<\/p><\/div>\n

It took one high school psychology class to kick-start\u00a0Mary Ellen Dello Stritto’s lifelong interest in how humans behave. Her educational history and subsequent career in higher education\u00a0are inextricably linked to studying and educating others on that behavior. And now as\u00a0the\u00a0assistant director for Oregon State Ecampus Research Unit, Mary Ellen\u00a0combines that\u00a0extensive knowledge\u00a0with ample experience as a researcher to contribute to the field of online teaching and learning. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

The bulk of her professional\u00a0life\u00a0has been spent\u00a0as an educator, teaching psychology and gender studies.\u00a0Mary Ellen\u00a0holds degrees from three institutions spanning coast to coast: a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Geneseo; an M.A. in Psychology from Appalachian State University; and a Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Claremont Graduate University.<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

By Tyler Hansen<\/a><\/em>
\n<\/em><\/a>Nov. 6, 2017<\/em><\/p>\n

Hometown<\/h3>\n

Auburn, New York<\/p>\n

When did you start working at Oregon State?<\/h3>\n

February 2017<\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about your job with OSU Ecampus?<\/h3>\n

\u201cIt has been exciting to learn a new field and apply my research background to online education. I am also really enjoying working closely with OSU faculty discussing research ideas, helping to design research protocols, assisting with survey development, and collecting and analyzing data. Working with faculty in different disciplines has given me insight into research in fields beyond my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Research and psychology have\u00a0factored\u00a0prominently in your career, and human behavior is a key component to each. Is that part of what drives your interest in these fields?<\/h3>\n

\u201cYes. I can trace my interest in understanding human behavior back to my high school years. When I took my first psychology course in high school, I knew that was the field that I wanted to study. When I got to college and I took a social psychology course, I was very excited because the focus is on how we influence each other’s behavior.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince we are all social beings, it is hard to think of an area of life in which social psychology does not apply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tell us about one of the research projects you\u2019re currently working on.<\/h3>\n

\u201cI am currently reviewing more than 20 years of research studies that have compared face-to-face, online and hybrid course delivery methods. The research unit is compiling these studies for a searchable database. If you are interested in research on the student outcomes in an online course versus a face-to-face course in a particular discipline, this database will allow you to search and retrieve research citations.\u201d<\/p>\n

“<\/span>One of the many things I gained from (being director of a women’s center was)\u00a0a broader view of the remarkable perseverance of students who succeed in college despite facing seemingly enormous obstacles.”<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Having spent 16 years as a university professor, tell us the one thing you do NOT miss about teaching.<\/h3>\n

\u201cOne thing I do not miss are the dreams that I used to have when I was a professor. Often they were about losing my class notes and not knowing what to cover, or some were about my students completely ignoring me in the classroom. Thankfully, none of those fears were ever realized!\u201d<\/p>\n

You were previously the director of a women\u2019s and family center at Western Oregon University. How did that experience help shape your worldview?<\/h3>\n

\u201cI spent six years as the Director of Abby\u2019s House, the campus women\u2019s center at WOU. One of the many things I gained from that experience was a great appreciation for the selflessness and dedication of my student staff and volunteers who deeply cared about the well-being of the students we served.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also gained a broader view of the remarkable perseverance of students who succeed in college despite facing seemingly enormous obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n

How can the work of the Ecampus Research Unit improve the experience for the people who learn and teach online?<\/h3>\n

\u201cWe have several specific examples from the original research conducted by the unit. The research unit conducted studies on closed captioning that showed that captions are useful learning aids for students regardless of whether or not they have disabilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a recent study, we found that instructional designers are a significant resource for faculty who want to conduct research on their teaching. \u00a0This research can ultimately improve the quality of instruction and overall student learning.\u201d<\/p>\n

You\u2019ve worked at seven universities whose mascots were Beavers, Wolves, Cardinals, Fighting Scots, Broncos, Leopards and Bruins. Which one has been your favorite and why?<\/h3>\n

\u201cThe Beavers are the best because they are the most hardworking of all those mascots!\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s your idea of a perfect weekend?<\/h3>\n

\u201cMy perfect weekend is spent hiking on the Oregon Coast or skiing in the Oregon Cascades.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

<\/span> 3<\/span> minute read<\/span><\/span>It took one high school psychology class to kick-start Mary Ellen Dello Stritto’s lifelong interest in how humans behave. Her educational history and subsequent career in higher education are inextricably linked to studying and educating others on that behavior. And now as the assistant director for Oregon State Ecampus Research Unit, Mary Ellen combines that extensive knowledge with ample experience as a researcher to contribute to the field of online teaching and learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[673],"tags":[25,24,163],"class_list":["post-654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-online-education","tag-online-learning","tag-oregon-state-ecampus-research-unit"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/assets\/mary-ellen-web.jpg?fit=638%2C410&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7BNSE-ay","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2886,"url":"https:\/\/ecampus.oregonstate.edu\/news\/online-education-research-2025\/","url_meta":{"origin":654,"position":0},"title":"Journal publications illustrate Oregon State\u2019s leadership in online education research","author":"Oregon State University","date":"October 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"For 10 years, the Oregon State University Ecampus Research Unit has made a significant impact on the field of online teaching and learning. 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