Melissa Landers-Potts
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Interim Assistant Dean for Academic Programs
In addition to serving as the interim assistant dean, Dr. Landers-Potts is also a principal lecturer with expertise in active and universal design for teaching and learning. She has worked within the FACs community to promote inclusive excellence.
Education
| Degree | Field of Study | Institution | Graduation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ph.D. | Human Development and Family Science | University of Georgia | 1998 |
| M.A. | Sociology | University of Georgia | 1994 |
| B.A. | Sociology/Anthropology | Carleton College | 1990 |
Research
Dr. Landers-Potts is interested in how socioeconomic status/overall access to tangible resources and social capital, as well as race/ethnicity influence the success of human beings as they grow--particularly as these contexts relate to their educational outcomes. Generally, she studies and incorporates into her teaching the importance of recognizing the ways that marginalization of people impedes optimal development and how this can be recognized and addressed. Recently, she has also written, presented and taught about the effect and implications of new technologies on individuals and their development. Additionally, she frequently presents on the design of online service-learning courses and her teaching model in which she has partnered with a private sector business to further the learning of her students.
Teaching
Human Development, Adolescence, Effect of Technology on Human Development, Impact of Identity & Experience on Human Flourishing
Awards
| Award Name | Awarded By | Year Awarded |
|---|---|---|
| UGA Faculty Fellow for Student Success | UGA Office of the Vice President for Instruction & Center for Teaching and Learning | 2023 |
| UGA Teaching Excellence Award | UGA Office of the Provost | 2022 |
| UGA Active Learning Faculty Mentor | UGA Center for Teaching & Learning | 2022 |
| UGA Teaching Academy Inductee | UGA Teaching Academy | 2020 |
| Family & Consumer Sciences 100 Centennial Honoree | College of Family & Consumer Sciences | 2018 |
| Cognella/National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) Innovations in Teaching Award | Cognella Publishing Company and National Council on Family Relations | 2018 |
| UGA Creative Teaching Award | UGA Office of the Vice President of Instruction | 2018 |
| UGA Service-Learning Award | UGA Office of Service-Learning | 2018 |
| UGA Student Government Association Teacher of the Year | UGA Student Government Association | 2017-2018 |
| Teacher of the Year | College of Family and Consumer Sciences | 2013 |
| Teacher of the Year | College of Family and Consumer Sciences | 2010 |
Outreach
Dr. Landers-Potts regularly incorporates experiential and active learning into her teaching. Recently, she has spent time speaking and facilitating faculty forums to discuss the ways that students with different identities and strengths can be supported through the way we structure our classes. She teaches a service-learning Adolescent Development course each semester in which she partners with an online mental health company in the private sector. Her students become online peer mentors to adolescents and emerging adults across the globe by way of sharing and discussing the developmental information they are learning about these life stages.
Advisory Committee
Advisor to the Dean and Committee Chair--Inclusive Excellence, College of Family & Consumer Sciences
Faculty Advisory Committee, UGA Office of the Vice President for Instructrion (2022-2024)
Facilitator--Inclusive Excellence in HDFS Department
Faculty Advisor for Phi Upsilon Omicron Honor Society
UGA Active Learning Summer Institute Mentor (2023) and panel speaker (2023 & 2024)
UGA Service-Learning Fellows mentor and speaker
UGA New Student/Parent Orientation speaker
UGA New Teaching Faculty Orientation speaker
Areas of Expertise
Economic hardship, Race-ethnicity, Lifespan Well-Being; Technology & Human Development; Adolescence
Melissa Landers-Potts is an avid runner who is a member of the Athens Road Runner racing team. Her husband and older son are graduates of the University of Georgia and her younger son is also a UGA student.
Current Classes
HDFS 4330: Diversity in Human and Family Development
HDFS 2200 & 2200H: Lifespan Development
HDFS 3700 & 3700S: Adolescent Development
HDFS 4900: Seminar in Medical Technology, Ethics & Human Development
Current Research
Effects of economic stress and race/ethnicity on children/adolescents
Racism, sexism & classism
Effects of electronic communication on the well-being of military youth
Job Description
The Interim Assistant Dean for Academic Programs is primarily responsible for administrative oversight for undergraduate programs, verifying college compliance with University of Georgia policies and procedures, aligning all undergraduate educational programs with the college’s and university’s 2025 Strategic Plan and overseeing the Student Success and Advising Center’s staff.
Journal Articles
- Armah, A., & Landers-Potts, M. (2021). A Review of Imaginary Companions and Their Implications for Development (with considerations for race & social class). Imagination, Cognition and Personality, 41(1), 31–53.
- Landers-Potts, M. A., O’Neal, C. W., & Mancini, J. A. (2017). Electronic communication use and socio-emotional well-being among military youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 26(12), 3266-3277.
- Simons, L. G., Wickrama, K. A. S., Lee, T. K., Landers‐Potts, M., Cutrona, C., & Conger, R. D. (2016). Testing family stress and family investment explanations for conduct problems among African American adolescents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 78(2), 498-515.
- Landers‐Potts, M. A., Wickrama, K. A. S., Simons, L. G., Cutrona, C., Gibbons, F. X., Simons, R. L., & Conger, R. (2015). An extension and moderational analysis of the family stress model focusing on African American adolescents. Family Relations, 64(2), 233-248.
- Brody, G. H., Jack, L., Jr., Murry, V. M., Lander-Potts, M., & Liburd, L. (2001). Heuristic model linking contextual processes to self-management in African-American adults with Type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Educator, 27, (5), 17-25.
- Malone, D. M., & Landers, M. A. (2001). Mother’s perceptions of the toy play of preschoolers with intellectual disabilities, Journal of Disabilities, Development and Education, 48, 1.
- Landers-Potts, M., & Grant., L. (1999). Competitive climates, athletic skill and children’s status in after-school recreational sports programs, Social Psychology of Education, 2, 297-313.
- Landers, M.A., & Fine, G. A. (1996). Learning life’s lessons in tee-ball: The reinforcement of gender and status in kindergarten sport. Sociology of Sport Journal, 13, 87-94.
Publications
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=H3wjpnQAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=sra