Melissa Landers-Potts
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Senior Lecturer
Dr. Melissa Landers-Potts is a senior lecturer and advisor to the HDFSA
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Human Development and Family Science | University of Georgia | 1998 |
| M.A. | Sociology | University of Georgia | 1994 |
| B.A. | Sociology/Anthropology | Carleton College | 1990 |
Research
Dr. Landers-Potts is interested in how socioeconomic status/overall access to tangible resources and social capital, as well as race/ethnicity influence the success of children as they grow--particularly as these contexts relate to their educational outcomes. Generally, she studies and incorporates into her teaching the importance of recognizing the ways that marginalization of people impedes optimal development and how this can be recognized and addressed. Recently, she has also written, presented and taught about the effect and implications of new technologies on family members and their development. Additionally, she frequently presents on the design of online service-learning courses.
Teaching
Family Development, Lifespan Development, Adolescence, Diversity/Structural Inequality, Effect of Technology on Human Development
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| Teacher of the Year | College of Family and Consumer Sciences | 2010 |
| Teacher of the Year | College of Family and Consumer Sciences | 2013 |
| UGA Student Government Association Teacher of the Year | UGA Student Government Association | 2017-2018 |
| UGA Service-Learning Award | UGA Office of Service-Learning | 2018 |
| UGA Creative Teaching Award | UGA Office of the Vice President of Instruction | 2018 |
| Cognella/National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Innovations in Teaching Award | Cognella Publishing Company and National Council on Family Relations | 2018 |
| Family & Consumer Sciences 100 Centennial Honoree | College of Family & Consumer Sciences | 2018 |
| UGA Teaching Academy Inductee | UGA Teaching Academy | 2020 |
Outreach
Dr. Landers-Potts teaches a service-learning section of an Adolescent Development course each semester in which students become online peer mentors to adolescents and emerging adults across the globe by way of sharing and discussing the developmental information they are learning about these life stages.
Areas of Expertise
Adolescent Development, Economic hardship, Race-ethnicity and Child/Adolescent Well-Being; Technology & Human Development
Current Classes
HDFS 2200 & 2200H: Lifespan Development
HDFS 3700 & 3700S: Adolescent Development
HDFS 4330: Diversity in Human and Family Development
HDFS 4900: Seminar in Medical Technology, Ethics & Human Development
Current Research
Effects of economic stress and race on children/adolescents via family process pathways, the effects of electronic communication on the well-being of military youth, and the pedagogical effects of a universal, department-wide writing rubric.