Who We Are
Core Staff
Gene M. Lutz, Ph.D.
Director
Gene.Lutz@uni.edu
Dr. Lutz is Professor of Sociology at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), and has been Director of the Center for Social and Behavioral Research (CSBR) at UNI since 1988. He is also an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Iowa Department of Community and Behavioral Health. He holds a PhD in Sociology from Iowa State University. Dr. Lutz has been the Principal Investigator for over 70 studies of public health and other topics, and the administrator for scores of additional studies.
Mary Losch, Ph.D.
Assistant Director
Mary.Losch@uni.edu
Dr. Losch is Professor of Psychology at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI), and has been Assistant Director of the Center for Social and Behavioral Research (CSBR) at UNI since 1998. She is also an Adjunct Clinical Professor at the University of Iowa Department of Community and Behavioral Health. She holds a PhD in Psychology from the University of Iowa. Dr. Losch has been the Principal Investigator for numerous grants, contracts and investigations of public policy, public health and other topics.
Mel E. Gonnerman, Jr., Ph.D.
Senior Research Methodologist
Mel.Gonnerman@uni.edu
Dr. Gonnerman is the Senior Research Methodologist at the CSBR. He received his PhD in psychology from Northern Illinois University. At the CSBR, he has been involved with survey development, data management, statistical analysis, and report writing for more than 50 studies covering a wide range of topic areas.
Disa L. Cornish, Ph.D.
Program Evaluator
Disa.Cornish@uni.edu
Dr. Cornish is the Program Evaluator at the CSBR, and has held this position since January of 2008. Her work at the CSBR includes formative, process, and summative evaluation research, instrument development, project coordination, and reporting. Dr. Cornish received her doctoral degree in health education and health promotion from the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health.
Anne Bonsall Hoekstra, M.A.
Project Coordinator
Anne.BonsallHoekstra@uni.edu
Anne Bonsall Hoekstra is Project Coordinator for the Iowa Barriers to Prenatal Care Project and provides research support and expertise to the Research Program of the Iowa Initiative to Reduce Unintended Pregnancies. She came to the CSBR in 2008 after conducting research as a part of her undergraduate and graduate studies at Wartburg College, Minnesota State University, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Minneapolis. Ms. Bonsall Hoekstra holds a BA from Wartburg College and a MA in Clinical Psychology from Minnesota State University.
Mary Jane Crew, B.A.
Interviewer Supervisor
MJ.Crew@uni.edu
Mary Jane Crew joined the Center as Interviewer Supervisor in January of 1993 and has a BA in Anthropology from the University of Northern Iowa. She hires and trains all telephone interviewers and supervises the management of the telephone data collection lab. Ms. Crew ensures that data collection meets established standards, monitors the progress of projects, and achieves project deadlines. Additionally, Ms. Crew consults and assists in questionnaire development and debugs Ci3 questionnaire programming.
Rod Muilenburg, B.L.S.
Assistant Interviewer Supervisor
Rod.Muilenburg@uni.edu
Rod graduated with a BLS from UNI in 2000. As Assistant Interviewer Supervisor he assists in the coordination and supervision of the day-to-day activities in the telephone interviewing lab. He oversees WinCATI operations and programs questionnaires in Ci3. Rod is also the Project Coordinator for the Iowa Gambling Treatment Outcomes System.
Thomas M. Turner, B.A.
Information Technology Specialist
Thomas.Turner@uni.edu
Since graduating from UNI in 1994, with a BA in Computer Science, Tom Turner has been responsible for all aspects of technology at the CSBR, from maintaining the network servers and PC workstations to coding programs in Ci3, C/C++, ECMAScript, and SPSS.
Sharon Cory
Secretary/Accounts
Sharon.Cory@uni.edu
Sharon Cory performs a variety of administrative and accounting functions in the Center for Social and Behavioral Research. She came to the CSBR in 1997 after spending 8 years assisting with the UNI Overseas Placement Fair for Educators.