Ask Ty Abernathy if he has to go to class, and he鈥檒l respond with a correction鈥攈e gets to go to class.
"Dr. Ty," as his students call him, counts it a privilege to teach at Mississippi 大象APP and interact with students. He came to MSU as a graduate student in 1995 and built strong connections within the Bulldog community. His friendships now span the generations from some of the newest faces on campus to senior faculty mentors. And connecting with a variety of people from all walks of life seems to come naturally for him.
With a background in psychology and cognitive science, the assistant clinical professor is passionate about helping others succeed, and he knows a few critical keys to success that data show help college students reach their academic goals. His past work with the Pathfinders initiative helped students by encouraging class attendance. As a result of increasing attendance and reducing absences, both retention and graduation rates increased at the university to more than 85% and 60%, respectively.
As a College of Education faculty member in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Foundations, Abernathy said he knows some subjects like the back of his hand, such as the Human Growth and Development course he鈥檚 taught for 15 years. Still, he enjoys every day in the classroom because 鈥渋t鈥檚 all about the students,鈥 he said.
鈥淚f it wasn鈥檛 for the students, this wouldn鈥檛 be much fun at all,鈥 he joked about the university. He loves getting to know them individually鈥攚here they come from, how they chose MSU, and about their career aspirations and other hopes and dreams for the future.
But after years of classroom teaching, Abernathy is enjoying teaching outside the classroom鈥攁nd outside of the U.S. He currently is leading more study-abroad trips than any other MSU faculty member, with several trips planned annually. His students are literally expanding their horizons by 鈥渢raveling with Ty.鈥
Abernathy said faculty leaders of study-abroad trips do a large amount of advance planning鈥攊ncluding significant paperwork and holding interest sessions with prospective participants.
The hard work pays dividends, and the rewards for both the teacher and student travelers are manifold. Abernathy has led recent groups to Vienna, Austria, and Prague, Czech Republic; Seville, Spain; Dublin, Ireland; and Athens, Greece.
鈥淚n March, I鈥檓 going back to Seville and then back to Vienna and Prague in May, but I鈥檓 adding Salzburg, Austria (where the Sound of Music was filmed) and Leipzig, Germany (the birthplace of psychology),鈥 Abernathy said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 where Wilhelm Wundt, the father of psychology, developed what we now know as psychology.鈥
Students can enroll in these psychology-focused international explorative travel courses as either an undergraduate or graduate student because they are listed as split-level. Additionally, the credits can count as either an educational psychology or general psychology course in the colleges of Education or Arts and Sciences. For this reason, Abernathy鈥檚 study-abroad students come from across the university.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a psychology or educational psychology major, it replaces one of your upper-level, major electives. For some majors, it can actually count as a behavioral or social sciences elective鈥攐r it could be a general elective, depending on how many credits a student already has and what requirements have been satisfied,鈥 he explained.
Abernathy said his favorite trip isn鈥檛 to a specific destination, but it鈥檚 more about the people traveling together. All the groups seem to learn a lot and have a wonderful experience, he said, but some groups have been particularly engaging. Because he strives to get to know each student on some level, he prefers the smaller to mid-size class sizes, but he soon will take a group of 60 to Spain.
鈥淲ith every trip I go on, there is a different academic component because I want to make the trip as applicable and relevant as possible,鈥 he said. 鈥淚 enjoy it because I鈥檓 learning along with these students. I鈥檓 reading and listening to our guide at the same time they are鈥攚e鈥檙e like partners in learning.鈥
鈥淚 guess if there is one place that really speaks to me, it鈥檚 probably Prague鈥攁lthough Vienna is really awesome too,鈥 Abernathy added.
Learn more about study abroad at .