Dr. Gassin has been a faculty member at Olivet since 1995, except for the period from 2000 to 2003 when she was working in Russia. In 2007, she received the Richard M. Jones Faculty Award for Teaching Excellence, and in 2015, the Samuel L. Mayhugh Award for Scholarly Excellence.
Dr. Gassin 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. In 2017 she earned a graduate certificate in qualitative research methods. She focuses her scholarship on several topics: the psychology of forgiveness, the grieving process, and religious development in children. Dr. Gassin also provides counseling services to the wider Kankakee community.
Dr. Gassin is a founding board member of the International Forgiveness Institute, based in Madison, Wisconsin. She is also a member of the American Psychological Association.
She enjoys exploring and studying in the areas of history, theology, and art. Much of her free time is devoted to the fiber arts in particular, such as crochet, knitting, and dyeing yarn. Dr. Gassin roots for the San Francisco Giants, Chicago White Sox, San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, Chicago Blackhawks, and Wisconsin Badgers.
