Maria Vita Calkins, Ed.D. 

Associate Professor of Psychology
Division: Education and Psychology
Phone: 508.373.9513
Email: maria.vitacalkins@becker.edu

Maria Vita Calkins has been employed at Becker College since 1997, initially serving as an instructor of psychology and sociology until 2009. After three years as the assistant dean of student academic support services at Becker, Vita Calkins recently became an associate professor of psychology. In this capacity, she will be responsible for teaching psychology and advising psychology majors while also serving as a First Year Experience advisor and assisting in managing the dismissal/reinstatement process and advising dismissed/reinstated students.

Vita Calkins has also held teaching positions at Quinsigamond Community College, Assumption College and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and served as an educational counselor at the Colleges of Worcester Consortium.

Vita Calkins earned her Ed.D. in higher education research and administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, her M.A. in counseling psychology from Anna Maria College and her B.A. is psychology from Amherst College.

Fellowships and Awards

John Woodruff Simpson Research Fellowship (2002-2003)

Warner Gardner Fletcher Teaching Fellowship (2001-2002)

Amherst College Memorial Fellowship (2000-2001)

Elected to Phi Beta Kappa (1984)

Selected Professional Memberships

American Psychological Association (2000-present)

National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) (2008-present)

Autism Society of America (ASA) (1993-present)

Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (2002-2009)

New England Educational Research Organization (NEERO) (1999-2008)

Publications and Presentations

Calkins, M. V., Augusto, K., and Mazloff, N.  (2009). Engaging the First-Year Student:  A Whole College Approach.  Presentation given at the College of Worcester Consortium conference, “Fostering Student Success,” College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA, October, 2009.

Calkins, M.V. (2007).  Part-Time Faculty and Student Learning.  Academic Exchange Quarterly, 11(3).

Calkins, M. V. (2005).  First-Generation College Students:  Family Influence and the Road to College. Dissertation.  Citation, abstract, and 24-page preview available for review at Proquest Digital Dissertations  http://www.lib.umi.com/dissertations

Calkins, M.V. (2004).  The anatomy of a qualitative inquiry.  Paper presented at the 16th Annual Conference on Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, SUNY Albany, June, 2004. 

Calkins, M.V. (2003).  The ethnographic study of community college students:  Research issues, challenges and concerns.  Paper presented at the 35th Annual New England Educational Research Organization Conference, Portsmouth, NH, April, 2003.

Berger, J.B. & Calkins, M.V. (2003).  The higher education system of the United States.  In The Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd ed., Guthrie, J. (Ed.) (Vol. 3, pp. 1034-1045).  MI: Macmillan Reference.

Calkins, M. V. (2002).  Giants among  us:  First-generation college graduates who lead activist lives.  Journal of College Student Retention, 4 (2), pp. 203-206.

Berger, J.B. & Calkins, M.V. (2001).  Charting educational pathways:  Shifts in educational access and attainment in New England.  Paper presented at the 33rd Annual New England Educational Research Organization Conference, Portsmouth, NH, April, 2001.