Claire St. Peter, a board-certified behavior analyst who serves as Eberly Family Professor for Outstanding Public Service and chair of the Department of Psychology in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, has been selected for the September Faculty Feature.
While finishing her doctoral degree in psychology at the University of Florida in 2006, she says she spotted a rare find — an assistant professor opening in her field at WVU.
“WVU is, hands down, one of the best universities in the world for behavior analysis, so applying as a brand-new PhD felt like a total long shot,” she said. “But I arrived straight out of grad school, built a career around helping others, and never looked back. Choosing this University remains one of the best professional decisions of my life.”
Committed to empowering young learners to reach their full potential, St. Peter and her students have partnered with Monongalia County Schools for two decades to bring behavior analysis into classrooms.
By collaborating with local educators, her team works to understand why a student is engaging in disruptive behaviors and create strategies to engage them in learning. To sustain these outcomes, she trains teachers to use evidence-based strategies, and in some cases, become certified behavior analysts.
The partnership also offers immersive fieldwork for undergraduate students pursuing a certificate in behavior analysis at WVU — one of only eight accredited programs of its kind in the world.
“It is incredibly gratifying to mentor the next generation of psychologists and watch them see firsthand how their education helps change lives,” St. Peter said. “A single field experience and faculty guidance are exactly what solidified my own career path.”
Though she initially planned to become a veterinarian, her career path was shaped by two pivotal moments.
First, a class introduced her to behavior analysis pioneer Henry Pennypacker, whose mentorship sparked her passion for behavior analysis.
Her second turning point occurred at a residential facility. By graphing the daily behavior of a boy who required frequent physical restraint, she discovered his outbursts vanished on Sundays when he was allowed to sing in church. When she updated his treatment plan to offer daily peer sing-alongs as a reward for positive behavior, his outbursts stopped immediately, allowing him to safely rejoin his peers and prepare for discharge.
“Witnessing how this simple intervention completely altered a young person’s trajectory hooked me instantly,” she said. “Today, I use the power of reinforcement to help local students. Seeing them succeed is what makes this work completely worthwhile.”
Under her leadership, the Department of Psychology has introduced a new neuroscience minor, driven freshman retention past 90%, and cultivated a robust, high-impact research culture. Faculty members have secured major grants from top federal funding agencies — including the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health — resulting in several publications coauthored by students.
“My journey was profoundly influenced by faculty members,” she said. “Paying that forward — whether by opening a professional door or creating a great classroom experience — is the best part of my job.”
St. Peter lives on a farm with her husband, whose support she credits for her success. They share their home with a lively mix of dogs, cats, horses, chickens, and guinea fowl. On the farm, she even applies positive-reinforcement behavior analysis to her horse-training hobby — a unique crossover approach that has yielded several peer-reviewed publications.
Nominate a University faculty member for a future Faculty Feature by sending an email to enews@mail.wvu.edu.