Dr. Matthew Cole
Psychology Program Director
Matthew Cole’s varied academic and professional career began in 1985 when he received a Bachelor of Music degree from Cleveland Institute of Music at Case Western Reserve. With degree in hand, Matthew moved to New York city and spent the next ten years trying his hand at a career in the music industry. Being in the right place at the right time, Matthew arrived in New York city during the infancy period of the MTV era. It was then that his entrepreneurial spirit revealed itself with the creation of Soundtrack City, his music and video production business. At the same time, he also continued to be engaged with his first true love; working as a musical performer playing the trumpet, keyboards and guitar.
A life altering moment happened while playing music for older adults (as a music therapist) at a local hospital: Matthew was introduced to the gratifying world of clinical psychology. Having grown up in Southfield, he returned home to Michigan to pursue specialized training in psychology at Eastern Michigan University. In 1997 he completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology, and in 1999 completed a Master of Science degree in Clinical Behavioral Psychology. Upon graduation he worked as a limited licensed psychologist performing neuropsychological evaluations and offering cognitive-behavioral therapy to children, adults and older adults with traumatic brain injury, developmental disabilities and chemical dependency. He had the opportunity to use and develop his clinical skills for Ann Arbor Rehabilitation Centers, Inc. and the Wayne County Juvenile Assessment Center.
As Matthew continued his clinical work in neuropsychology, he quickly developed a passion for learning more about the brain and behavioral neuroscience. He decided to continue his graduate studies at Wayne State University when he was offered a National Institute on Drug Abuse predoctoral training grant to investigate the behavioral effects of opioid tolerance and dependence in the behavioral pharmacology laboratory of Alice M Young. He was also awarded a graduate teaching assistantship to run the undergraduate learning and memory laboratory. In 2002, he was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Biopsychology, with a minor in Pharmaceutical Sciences.
With the blending of his clinical and experimental skills, Matthew continued graduate studies in psychology and completed a research assistantship at the Pediatric Prevention Research Center from 2003-2005, under the supervision of Bonita Stanton, professor and chair of the Department of Pediatrics, at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. It was during this time that he began teaching as an adjunct professor of psychology for WSU and LTU, and was awarded the Heberlien Award for teaching excellence, in 2005, by the Wayne State University Department of Psychology.
Matthew remains involved on multiple research projects at the Prevention Center in collaboration with Dr. Stanton and colleagues. His continued allegiance with the Prevention Center has been critical for the success of several publications and research presentations on adolescent sex and drug risk behaviors as found in the Journal of Adolescent Health, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and Preventive Medicine. Under the supervision of Dr. Ty Partridge, Matthew completed his dissertation in 2008, "Investigating The Cognitive Processes That Mediate Protection Motivation Theory: A Parallel-Process Latent Growth Modeling Analysis."
In 2006, Matthew joined LTU’s department of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Communication as director of the psychology program and senior lecturer, teaching Behavioral Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Sensation and Perception, Drugs and Behavior, Research Methods, and Animal Behavior. Under his direction, the psychology program has enjoyed tremendous success as one of the fastest growing programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.
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