Address Location: Bailey Hall 308
Mailbox Location: Pyle Box: 1241
Dr. Victoria DeSensi, Associate Professor of Psychology, has taught nearly two dozen distinct courses in psychology since joining the Wilmington College faculty in 2010. For three consecutive years, Vicky has been granted an Exemplary Course Design Award for three distinct courses.
Vicky earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Miami University and a doctoral degree in psychology from Indiana University (Bloomington campus). She loves learning so much that she voluntarily took on the challenge of another round of graduate school. In 2023, she earned her Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Cincinnati. This degree helped her fulfill her aspiration of starting a Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) at WC. Vicky currently serves as the inaugural director of the Wilmington College CTE.
Vicky holds research interests in the scholarship of teaching and learning and, most recently, published a paper titled Coverage of psychological disorder stigma in introductory psychology. She currently has a paper in the “accepted with revisions” stage titled “Embedding social and emotional learning (SEL) design to support college student mental health and academic outcomes.”
Vicky also serves as advisor to Wilmington College's chapter of Active Minds. The expressed purpose of Active Minds is to increase awareness of the students, faculty, and staff about issues surrounding mental health, symptoms related to mental health disorders, and mental health resources available both on campus and in the surrounding community.
Vicky was primarily responsible for developing and fine-tuning a program assessment plan grounded in APA Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major: Version 2.0. She has served in many prominent faculty governance roles.
In 2016, Vicky was awarded a $10,000 grant from Mental Health Recovery Services of Warren and Clinton Counties to support and promote mental health on the Wilmington College campus.
Outside of academia, Vicky enjoys travel, cooking, gardening, listening to teaching and learning podcasts, and spending time with friends and family. In 2021, she also became a mentor to Savannah (her “little) through the Big Brothers, Big Sisters program. Vicky grew up in the Cleveland area, but currently resides with her husband (Ryan) and her cat (Marty) in Maineville.