Accelerated Academic Degree Programs
Faculty
Jana I. Tiefenwerth
Associate Faculty
Contact info:
Phone: 903.658.0481
Email: jtiefenwerth@instructor.post.edu or janatie@aol.com
Biography
Academic Background:
- Master of Science, Aging/Psychology, University of North Texas (2004)
- Bachelor of Arts, Criminal Justice/Sociology, Stephen F. Austin State University (1997)
Professional Background:
Mrs. Jana Tiefenwerth was certified as a Long-term Care Ombudsman by the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services in 2000. From 2000 to 2007, she worked for the Area Agency on Aging of East Texas as a long-term care ombudsman, earned her Specialist in Aging Certificate from the University of North Texas (UNT) in 2003, a Mediation Certificate in 2004, and a Master’s Degree in Aging from The University of North Texas in 2004. While working for the AAA, she developed CVO training material which was distributed nationwide through the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform in March 2005. Since that time, this material has been presented at the national level among state ombudsmen several times and is currently included in Texas State Certified Volunteer Ombudsman training programs. Mrs. Tiefenwerth has presented at various long-term care CVO training sessions and at various state training sessions in long-term care.
Capstone Research: “Improving Oral Hygiene for Long-term Care Residents: Effects on Physical and Mental Health,” Capstone Seminar on Applications in Practice, June 2004. Subsequently, this capstone has been used as a model for all Gerontology Capstone Seminars at UNT.
Teaching Background:
Mrs. Tiefenwerth began teaching psychology classes on an part-time basis at Post University in March 2011. She began her teaching career at Kilgore College in Texas in 2005, teaching face-to-face and online courses as an adjunct in sociology and psychology, while working as a long-term care ombudsman. She developed one of the first online classes to be offered at Kilgore College in the Social Sciences. In 2007, she joined the adjunct faculty at Stephen F. Austin State University (SFASU) in Nacogdoches, Texas, where she taught face-to-face classes and became a certified online instructor. She developed several online psychology and sociology courses and continues to develop and teach online classes for both the Psychology Department and the Cultural and Social Analysis Department at SFASU. She has recently developed one psychology course for Post University, to date. She also teaches online for A & M Central Texas for the Psychology Department and the Sociology Department.
Teaching Philosophy:
As a teacher, Mrs. Tiefenwerth strives to expose students to diversity while teaching understanding of differences. She encourages students to consider how historical periods, cultural, environmental and genetic influences, as well as public policy actually affect real world situations at both the micro and macro level—teaching students to move from theory to practice. She considers it a privilege to have worked at both ends of the life course, first in her work with the elderly and now with students. She has found that no matter where one falls on the life course timeline, needs, desires and hopes are similar.
Teaching Interests: Aging Issues; Lifespan Development; Human Sexuality
Personal Background:
Mrs. Tiefenwerth is married with four grown children. Two sons are physicians, one son is a HVAC technician in an East Texas hospital, and her only daughter attends Baylor College of Dentistry in Dallas, Texas, where she is pursuing her B.S. in Dental Hygiene. Mrs. Tiefenwerth and her husband now live in Central Texas. Her husband, Tom, is also an online instructor and teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level psychology and criminal justice classes at multiple universities, including Post University.
In her personal time, Mrs. Tiefenwerth enjoys taking care of Will and Kate, her grand-twins born in March 2011. She also is a voracious reader, a big animal lover, and loves the outdoors and traveling.