Mary Clare

Professor

Rogers Hall 401, MSC: 86

Mary M. Clare is a Professor in the graduate school and director of the Psychological and Cultural Studies Program at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon. Her research and scholarship have focused on applications of psychology in schools and communities with particular emphasis on identifying and correcting enculturated systems of oppression. Her new book, 100 Voices: Americans Talk about Change(LoudMouth Press) will be released in September of 2011.

Personal Statement

I’ve been spending this week reading student papers.  It’s one of the less glitzy parts of my role as a professor in our school and department, or so it would seem.  Mention of student papers isn’t as eye catching as, say, announcing the acquisition of a gazillion dollar grant or making an appearance on the Daily Show.  But I haven’t done either of those.  And the papers I’ve been reading are turning out to be every bit as worthy of awe.  My work has always focused on listening and, in particular, listening to voices and meanings that are less often heard, acknowledged and included in public settings.  The classes I teach always come back to that:  How do we as counselors and educators, as public leaders listen and act in ways that are more in keeping with the language we use?  Language like “social justice,” like “diversity,” like “transparency” and “democracy.”  Term after term I find my students are excellent companions for continuing to push that question.  That’s why I’m feeling awe and a hefty dose of gratitude as I read the ways they’ve distilled their thoughts at the end of this semester.  

I came to Lewis & Clark nearly 25 years ago (that alone is an astonishment to me) because I wanted to be part of a graduate program that refused to forget the art that is so vital to responsible and responsive professionalism.  All of the courses I teach draw on that art.  The Psychological and Cultural Studies program for which I have responsibility exists with the liberal arts at its center — this non-licensed degree affords students the opportunity to craft their own inquiry into the artistic application of ideas of culture and psychology in the world of socially responsible vocation. The graduate Core program is another place where the art of our professions is explicit.  My professional and personal investigations as a scholar have pointed again and again to the value in the ineffable — the improvisation, the trust, the art that make the tools of skill and knowledge of actual use in the world.  That’s what my students and I work with.  It’s excellent.  But, don’t believe me, check it out.

Areas of Expertise

Consultation, clinical work with diverse populations, school psychology, contemporary Native American life, responsive assessment, resilience in cases of social marginalization

Current Research

  • Multicontextuality and decolonization in higher education
  • Surviving and thriving in schools and communities: Reslilience among people of historically marginalized groups
  • The meaning of social justice in social service provision
  • In early 2009, Dr. Clare drove around the country asking everyday Americans what they mean when they say the word “change.”  The project, EX:Change, and its data continue to yield writing, curricula, and opportunities for formal ethnographic investigation.  Visit the EX:Change website and weekly blog.   

Publications

  • Clare, M. M. (2011).  100 Voices: Americans Talk about Change.   Brooklyn, NY:  LoudMouth Press.
  • Clare, M. M. (in preparation). What Do We Mean When We Say Social Justice in School Psychology?  In D. Shriberg, S. Y. Song, A. H. Miranda, & K. M. Radliff (Eds.)  School Psychology and Social Justice: Conceptual Foundations and Tools for Practice. New York:  Routledge.
  • Clare M. (in press).  Social justice in the graduate and continuing education of special education professionals.  In C.R. Reynolds, K. J. Vannest & E. Fletcher-Janzen (Eds.).  Encyclopedia of special education, 4/E. New York:  Wiley.
  • Clare M. (in press).  Mis-qualification of sexual minority youth as behaviorally disordered.  In C.R. Reynolds, K. J. Vannest & E. Fletcher-Janzen (Eds.). Encyclopedia of special education, 4/E. New York:  Wiley.
  • Clare, M. M. (2009).  Thinking diversity:  A habit of mind for school psychology.  In T. B. Gutkin & C. R. Reynolds (Eds.), The handbook of school psychology, 4/E. New York:  Wiley.
  • Clare, M. M. (2009).  Decolonizing consultation:  Advocacy as the strategy, diversity as the context.  Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 19, 8-25.
  • Clare M., & Garcia G. (2007). Working with migrant children and their families. In G. B. Esquivel, E. C. Lopez, and S. Nahari (Eds.), Handbook of Multicultural School Psychology, (pp. 549-572). New York: Erlbaum.
  • Clare, M. M., & Torres, D. (2006).  ¡Sí se puede!  Culturally congruent special education evaluation for migrant students.  Multiple Voices, 9, 122-134.
  • Clare, M. M., & James, S. (2005).  Secondary schools, LGBT.  In J. T. Sears, (Ed.), Youth, education, and sexualities:  An international encyclopedia (pp. 754-759). Westport,CT:  Greenwood Publishing Group.
  • James, S., Clare, M. M., & Sears, J. T. (2005).  Community LGBT youth groups. In J. T. Sears, (Ed.), Youth, education, and sexualities:  An international encyclopedia (pp. 203-207). Westport,CT:  Greenwood Publishing Group.
  • Clare, M., Jimenez, A., & McClendon, J. (2005). Toma el tiempo: The wisdom of migrant families in consultation. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 16, 95-111.

Academic Credentials

PhD 1986 University of Nebraska at Lincoln, MA 1980, BA 1978 Austin College

Location: Rogers Hall