Document Type
Oral History
Publication Date
8-22-2024
Biography
Sharon Carnahan, Ph.D. (UNC Chapel Hill 1991) is Professor of Psychology at Rollins College, where she was the Executive Director of the Hume House Child Development & Student Research Center, a laboratory preschool, from 1992-2024.
Dr. Carnahan was born in Chicago and reared in upstate NY. Her father, grandmother and 2 sisters were all teachers. The Carnahan family ran a summertime wilderness outfitting business in the Adirondacks, leading groups though weeks of primitive camping and canoeing, and she has held instructor certificates from the American National Red Cross in canoeing, boating, CPR, First Aid, and Adaptive Aquatics.
Dr. Carnahan graduated from high school in New York and attended Hope College in Holland, Michigan, where she graduated magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and received the Sigma Xi Award for Outstanding Research in Science. After graduation, she worked for Educational Testing Service’s infant research division in NJ before enrolling in the Ph.D. program in Developmental Psychology at UNC Chapel Hill. Her graduate work was funded by an assistantship at the Frank Porter Graham Child Research Institute at UNC.
Dr. Carnahan took a leave of absence after her M.A., and worked in early intervention in FL, as a home visitor, teacher trainer, and in completing child assessments in a clinic for NICU graduates and babies who were HIV positive. After 5 years, she returned to UNC to complete the Ph.D. She joined the faculty at Rollins College in 1990 and received her PhD in 1991. At Rollins, she served as department chair, chaired every other standing committee except Finance & Service, and received college and community awards for teaching and service. She was an early adopter of community engagement and field courses, and taught immersion courses in Costa Rica and Apopka FL for 10 years.
Dr. Carnahan is an expert in infant and early childhood education and care, child assessment, and program evaluation. She has co-authored published curricula in developmental screening, the science behind early intervention, and teaching ethics and philosophy to the very young. Dr. Carnahan’s expertise in anti-racism efforts includes the implementation of these curricula with preschool children. She is the author of over 50 presentations and 25 publications and has served as a consultant in projects with women and children in Rwanda, Uganda, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and India. She maintains an active role in community-based research. For additional information, please see: sharoncarnahan.com.
Recommended Citation
Carnahan, Sharon and Zhang, Wenxian, "Oral History Interview with Sharon Carnahan and Wenxian Zhang" (2024). Oral Histories. 45.
https://scholarship.rollins.edu/oralhist/45
Rights
Sharon Carnahan
Included in
Child Psychology Commons, Developmental Psychology Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Oral History Commons
