Diane Oliver: Working to unlock young minds

	Diane Oliver decided early in life that she wanted to pursue psychology as her career.

Diane Oliver, assistant professor of psychology, knew the direction she wanted her life to take before she began high school.

"In eighth grade, I won a science fair with a project I did on visual depth perception, an idea I had after reading a psychology textbook," she explains. "That is when I knew what I wanted to do."

Oliver has since taken on much bigger research. She and her research team – primarily made up of UNT students – are currently working on a project they call the R.U.B.Y. study, or the Racial Uniqueness of Black Youth. The study investigates the religious and spiritual perceptions of parents and children ages 7-12.

Working on the project "is a very educational experience," says Enny Torres, a UNT senior and Ronald E. McNair Fellow who is part of Oliver's research team. "Dr. Oliver introduces us to a lot of things that will help us later on in our careers. We all love working with her."

Oliver received a bachelor's degree in psychology in 1989 from Brown University. She then earned a doctoral degree in child clinical psychology in 1998 from the University of Washington.

During her three years at UNT, she has taught classes dealing with child and adolescent behavior, both healthy and abnormal. But UNT isn't the only place where she heads up a class.

"I'm a certified aerobics instructor," Oliver says. "I teach at several fitness clubs in the Dallas area. I'm pretty big on fitness."

Oliver also likes to share her knowledge about psychology with the public. She never shies away from putting in a few community service hours when she can.

"I do a lot of speaking at local churches and I also do some commentary on AM radio, about topics like race riots, hate crimes, identity theft and children witnessing violence," she says. She has also appeared on a local television news broadcast.

"After Sept. 11, 2001, I was on the WB (Warner Brothers network) discussing how to talk to your children about the things that were happening."

In her free time, Oliver likes to spend some quality time with her husband and their pets. They have two cats and a guinea pig. She also likes to unwind by getting lost in a good book.

"I really enjoy reading," she says. "It's one of my favorite pastimes. As a child my favorite book was A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle, but my recent favorite is The Seasons of Beento Blackbird by Akosua Busia."

BY JAMIE EDINGER kreese@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• UNT Board of Regents approves design, construction of UNT Sorority Row
• Almost 2,000 expected to graduate during UNT commencement ceremonies Aug. 9
• About the commencement speaker
• TAMS receives 2003-04 funds
• UNT, Texas Instruments to use $2.2 million for NSF-funded nanotechnology project
• UNT to award scholarship for 12 credit hours with Family Weekend drawing
• Howdy Week events planned Aug. 24-30
• UNT's Summer II enrollment down slightly from last year's total enrollment numbers
• Changes made to state employee benefits, leave, compensation policies
• UNT historian debunks Revolutionary myths

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