College of Arts and Sciences
Behavioral Sciences
B.S., 1988, University of California-Davis
M.S., 1990, Purdue University
Ph.D., 1995, University of Wisconsin
M.A., 2009, Governors State University
A faculty member at Olivet since 1995, except for the period from 2000 to 2003 when she was working in Russia, Dr. Gassin teaches courses in developmental and cross-cultural psychology. In 2007, she received the Richard M. Jones Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence.
She holds degrees in human development, educational psychology (with an emphasis in gifted education), educational and developmental psychology with minors in research and statistics and moral education, and marriage and family counseling. She focuses her research on the psychology of forgiveness, social and moral development, and the psychology of religion.
Dr. Gassin is a founding board member of the International Forgiveness Institute, based in Madison, Wis., and has a variety of publications and presentations on the topic of forgiveness. She is also a member of the Association for Play Therapy; and the American Counseling Association.
She also enjoys exploring and studying in the areas of history, theology, art, sports and music.