Ric G. Steele, Ph.D.
- Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies
- Professor, Department of Applied Behavioral Science
Contact Info
Lawrence
Biography —
Ric Steele earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Georgia in 1998, after which he completed a 2-year post-doctoral fellowship in the Division of Behavioral Medicine at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. In 2000, Dr. Steele joined the faculty at the University of Kansas, where he has published more than 95 empirical articles, approximately 40 chapters and reviews, and 6 books. Steele's empirical research has been funded by grants from the US DHHS Maternal Child Health Bureau, and the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City.
Steele is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and serves on the editorial boards for Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. Steele is Board Certified (ABPP) in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and recently served as a member of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board (KS BSRB).
Dr. Steele served as Director of the KU Clinical Child Psychology Doctoral Program from 2012 until 2022, and as Interim Chair of the Department of Economics from 2022 to 2023. Steele currently serves as the Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Studies, and as the faculty supervisor for the Child Life Specialty concentration in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science.
Research —
Dr. Steele's program of research is broadly concerned with the promotion of physical and mental health in children, adolescents, and families across a continuum of health risk categories. Past grant-funded projects have included a clinic-based intervention for school-aged children with obesity and their families, and a web-based intervention to help school nurses deliver weight-related health counseling to school-aged children and their families. Dr. Steele is currently exploring factors associated with digital stress and digital health in adolescents and young adults. Using a newly developed measure of digital stress (Hall, Steele, Christofferson, & Mihailova, 2021), Steele and his collaborators are currently investigating correlates, predictors, and consequences of digital stress in adolescents and young adults. They are also developing an intervention designed to mitigate the impact of digital stress on psychosocial outcomes in these age groups.
Teaching —
Dr. Steele has received several recognitions for his teaching and mentorship including the Byron T. Alexander Graduate Mentor Award (University of Kansas), the Martin P. Levin Mentorship Award (Society of Pediatric Psychology), and the W.T. Kemper Fellowship for Teaching Excellence (University of Kansas). Current teaching preparations include Pediatric Health and Health Promotion (ABSC 529), Psychological Aspects of Death and Dying (ABSC 519), and Pediatric Psychology (ABSC 705). Steele is the faculty supervisor of the Child Life Specialty concentration within the Department of Applied Behavioral Science.
Service —
Steele is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Division 38, Society for Health Psychology; Division 53, Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology; and Division 54, Society of Pediatric Psychology), current member of the Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Subspecialties in Professional Psychology, and a past president of the American Board of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. He serves on the editorial boards for Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, and has served as an Associate Editor for Health Psychology and the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Steele is a Board Certified (ABPP) specialist in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and recently served as a member of the Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board.