The mission of the Center for Concussion Education and Research is to enhance the safety of athletes participating at all levels of play through education, research, and the development of innovative educational programs.
The Center for Concussion Education and Research was founded in 2015 by William Ernst, Psy.D., Meredith Kneavel, Ph.D., Lynn Ortale, Ph.D., and Lynn Tubman, M.Ed.
The Center for Concussion Education and Research was founded in 2015. The first project led by William Ernst, Psy.D. and Meredith Kneavel, Ph.D. was the development of the Peer Concussion Education Program, which was funded by a $75,000.00 grant from the NCAA-DoD Mind Matters Educational Programs Challenge. The Mind Matters Challenge called for the development of educational programs designed to change the culture surrounding concussion so that all concussions are reported instead of being hid from peers, coaches and commanders.
The grant to develop the PCEP was one of six awarded to organizations from across the United States. After completing the PCEP and its online manual, the PCEP was the only concussion education program selected by a joint NCAA-DoD panel to receive additional funding ($207,350.00), which was awarded to Meredith Kneavel, Ph.D. and William Ernst, Psy.D (Co-Principal Investigators) and Kevin McCarthy, Ph.D. (Secondary Investigator) to conduct a multi-site randomized controlled trial of the program. Ten colleges/universities, 60 sports teams and approximately 1,600 student-athletes participated in the multi-site study, which provided evidence supporting the PCEP’s effectiveness. Please see the Research page for more information.
The PCEP has been implemented at CHC during the past five years. During the 2020-2021 academic year, 20 peer concussion educators (2 per team) were trained to provide the PCEP to 10 CHC Athletic Teams, which resulted in about 350 student-athletes participating in the program.
Current or planned Center Initiatives include the development of versions of the PCEP to be used with high school and youth athletes as well as military service personnel. Research studies examining international perspectives on concussion awareness, education and reporting as well as concussion knowledge and attitudes of parents and coaches in the United States are either planned or underway.
Dr. William Ernst and Dr. Meredith Kneavel of the Center for Concussion Education and Research spoke to Dr. Kara Radzak of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association to discuss the research behind the peer concussion education program which was recently published online first in the Journal of Athletic Training. In addition, this article describing the Peer Concussion Education Program and its development are from in the same issue of the Journal of Athletic Training.
Drs. Ernst and Kneavel were also interviewed about their work with the Concussion Center by Sports Medicine Research: In the Lab & in the Field.
Kevin McCarthy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Executive Director, Center for Concussion Education and Research
St. Joseph Hall, 4th flr., North Wing, SJ452
215-248-7115
Email me: kevin.mccarthy@chc.edu
Dr. McCarthy’s professional interests include depression and adjustment problems in adulthood and couples therapy. He also has interest and experience in working with gay and lesbian individuals. He specializes in both short-term and open-ended psychodynamic and supportive psychotherapies. His scholarly interests include perceptions of intervention use in psychotherapy; processes of change in therapy and naturalistic settings; relationship patterns and correlates to personality and interpersonal attraction; adjustment and achievement inhibitions in young adults; and gay and lesbian mental health issues. Dr. McCarthy is a member of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Psychotherapy Research, and the Psychoanalytic Center of Philadelphia.
William J. Ernst, Psy.D.
Founding Executive Director, Center for Concussion Education and Research
Program Director, Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology, William Paterson University
215-262-0741
Email Me: ernstw@wpunj.edu
Dr. Ernst is the Founding Executive Director of the Center for Concussion Education and Research of Chestnut Hill College. Currently, he is also an associate professor of psychology and program director of the Psy.D. Program in Clinical Psychology at William Paterson University. Dr. Ernst is a clinical neuropsychologist who led a team that was awarded funding from the NCAA-DoD Mind Matters Educational Programs Challenge to develop a novel peer concussion education program (PCEP). In addition, he was the co-principal investigator of a multi-site randomized controlled trial of the PCEP. Dr. Ernst’s research focuses on the development and evaluation of educational interventions designed to increase concussion knowledge and symptom reporting in athletes. His research interests also include sports-related concussion, neuropsychological consultation with school personnel and performance validity testing during neuropsychological assessment. Dr. Ernst completed a postdoctoral fellowship in clinical neuropsychology at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey/Cooper Hospital. He maintains an independent practice in clinical neuropsychology focusing on neuropsychological assessment of children and adults with various neurodevelopmental and neurological conditions including ADHD, learning disabilities and traumatic brain injury.
Meredith E. Kneavel, Ph.D.
Founding Director, Research and Assessment, Center for Concussion Education and Research
Associate Dean, School of Nursing and Health Sciences, LaSalle University
215-951-1530
Email Me: kneavel@lasalle.edu
Dr. Kneavel is a biopsychologist whose scholarly interests began with the investigation of the physiological effects of stress on the structure and function of the brain and behavioral correlates of learning and memory. Many of these were investigated through transgenic and knockout gene technology with an emphasis on sex differences. Her stress research expanded to include long-term effects of stress on behavior and health. More recently, her research has focused on understanding concussions and reporting behavior through the development of a peer concussion education program. Dr. Kneavel’s research has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at regional and national conferences. She currently serves as the Associate Dean in the School of Nursing and Health Sciences and is a Professor in the Department of Urban Public Health and Nutrition at La Salle University in Philadelphia, PA. She also serves as the Director of Assessment and Research for the Center for Concussion Education and Research at Chestnut Hill College in a consultatory role.
Lynn Ortale, Ph.D.
President, Maria College
Founding Director of Strategic Planning and Marketing, Center for Concussion Education and Research
Dr. Ortale is the President of Maria College in Albany, New York, and was formerly the Vice President for Student Life and the Founding Director of Strategic Planning and Marketing for the Center for Concussion Education and Research at Chestnut Hill College. Dr. Ortale’s commitment to student engagement combined with her experience at NCAA Division I, II and III institutions helped to support the development of the peer concussion education program. A strength of the peer education program is the interdisciplinary approach which combines research and theory with best practices and assessment. Dr. Ortale holds a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Pennsylvania. Her research focused on entrepreneurial faculty. Dr. Ortale worked with a dynamic group of Student Life and Athletics professionals to nurture student success by providing resources and transformative experiences outside the classroom to promote students’ personal growth and academic success.