FACULTY PROFILES

Denise is an Assistant Professor in special education. Her background is in psychology, social work, and 7-12th grade classroom teaching. She earned her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, where she majored in Special Education, with an emphasis in Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, and minored in Educational Psychology. Her primary research interest focuses on disproportionality in school discipline.

Dr. Whitford specializes in school discipline disproportionality as it relates to underreported student populations. She is particularly interested in a) investigating patterns of disproportionality, b) examining the effects of disproportionality on student achievement, post-academic outcomes, and emotional well-being, and c) determining methods for decreasing disproportionality in K-12 settings.

Selected Publications

• Maker, C. J., Alhusaini, A. A., Zimmerman, R. H., Pease, R. J., Schiever, S. W., & Whitford, D. K. (2014). Recommendations for developing curricula for creativity and innovation in Saudi special schools for gifted students (Phase 1). DISCOVER Project report to the Saudi Arabia Ministry of Education (Contract # 25/M/M/35), University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.
• Whitford, D. K., & Levine-Donnerstein, D. (2014). Office disciplinary referral patterns of American Indian students from elementary school through high school. Behavioral Disorders, 39(2), 78-88.
• Whitford, D. K., Liaupsin, C., Umbreit, J., & Ferro, J. (2013). Implementation of a single comprehensive function-based intervention across multiple classrooms for a high school student. Education and Treatment of Children, 36 (4), 147-167.