Teresa Rivenes

Title
Adjunct Instructor
Email
Department
Dept of Human Factors, Safety and Social Sciences
College
College of Arts & Sciences

By day, Dr. Rivenes serves as a Senior Vice President overseeing the accreditation of higher education institutions across the northwest United States. By evening, she is an adjunct professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in the Social Science and Humanities Departments. Dr. Rivenes earned her PhD in Psychology from Capella University, followed by an EdD from Montana State University, where she was awarded the Distinguished Scholar Award and Land Grant Student of the Year Award. Her research has centered on self-esteem's impact on cross-cultural adoption, focusing on Native American self-esteem and cultural identification in education. She has also done research work in the area of community college governance and unfunded mandates. 

Dr. Rivenes has continued to teach ethics, psychology, and sociology classes because she is passionate about student success. She is also passionate about relationship-based management, curriculum outcomes design, strategic planning for long-term success, innovative educational solutions, and building community partnerships that support student success and economic mobility. She has served as an NWCCU peer accreditor and chair since 2013. Dr. Rivenes is a 2020-2021 NWCCU Assessment fellow and a 2023-2024 John Gardiner Innovation Institute Fellow. She has worked as a college Campus Center Director, Academic Director, Dean, Provost, and Vice President. In this work, she has earned acclaim for systemic approaches to student improvement and accreditation success, leading the first faculty teams in Oregon to remove developmental education classes and implement guided self-placement for all students and serving as the statewide co-chair of the Transfer Council nominated by community college and university peers, working to develop Common Course Numbering and Transfer Degree Maps across all state institutions. 

  • Ed.D. - Doctor of Education in Adult and Higher Education, Montana State University
  • M.S. - Master of Science in Psychology: General Psychology, Capella University
  • M. - Master in Social Science, Utah State University
  • B.S. - Bachelor of Science in Sociology: Psychology, Weber State University

PSYC220- Intro to Psychology