Maeghan Hennessey

Dr. Maeghan N. Hennessey is an associate professor of Science of Psychology, Data, and Research in Education (SPDRE) in the Jeannine Rainbolt College of Education (JRCoE) at the University of Oklahoma. She is the former Academic Department Chair of the Department of Educational Psychology, serving from July 2020 through July 2024. Dr. Hennessey completed her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from The Pennsylvania State University in Educational Psychology with a concentration in educational measurement. Prior to arriving at OU, she was a high school mathematics teacher.

Dr. Hennessey’s research lies at the intersection of educational measurement, transition education, and educational psychology. Her research interests include all aspects of educational measurement and evaluation, with a focus on assessment validation, particularly as it relates to transition assessment and transition education. She also investigates individuals’ epistemic practices, components of effective teaching, and group processes. Dr. Hennessey has been awarded approximately $5.6 million in research funding, primarily from the Institute of Education Sciences’ National Center for Special Education Research, to design transition assessments for individuals with a range of support needs to aid them in achieving positive employment and educational outcomes after high school. She has won numerous awards for her research, including the JRCoE’s Research/Scholarship Award, the Henry Daniel Rinsland Memorial Award for Excellence in Educational Research, the Vice President for Research and Practice’s Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity, and the “Must Read” in Transition-Related Research from the Division on Career Development and Transition. She received the Inaugural Women in Measurement Research Fellowship (now called ResearcHER) in 2021.

Dr. Hennessey currently serves as Associate Editor for Contemporary Educational Psychology and on the editorial boards of Career Development and Transition for Exceptional Individuals and the Journal  of Educational and Developmental Psychology. Previously she served as the Chair of American Educational Research Association Division C’s Graduate Student Seminar and as a member of various American Psychological Association Division 15 committees. More locally, Dr. Hennessey has served as a member of Faculty Senate, Campus Tenure Council, as a member of the OU IRB Board, on Committee A for the Department of Educational Psychology, as Program Area Coordinator for the SPDRE program, and on many other committees across the university and college. She has served as an advisor and mentor to numerous doctoral students, both inside and out of her department and regularly teaches courses in research methods, assessment methods, assessment design, and program evaluation. For her dedication to professional service and leadership, Dr. Hennessey was recently awarded the JRCoE’s Leadership and Citizenship Award.

Outside her professional roles, Dr. Hennessey volunteers her time as a catechist at St. Mark’s Catholic Church, where she was named “Catechist of the Year” in 2022, and as a member of their prayer shawl ministry. She is a member of the Kiwanis Club of Moore, formerly served as Kiwanis Advisor to high school Key Clubs, and is a George F. Hixson Fellow (2006). She appreciates the time she can spend relaxing with her husband and watching her five children enjoy soccer, dance, cheerleading, and tennis.