About Us
Mary A. Steinhardt, Ed.D.
Dr. Mary Steinhardt is a professor of Health Behavior and Health Education in the College of Education at The University of Texas at Austin. Her research explores the determinants and methods for building resilience and strength when challenged with change and stressful situations and the development of programs that enhance individual and community resilience. Mary has worked with 3M, Motorola, Dell and Applied Materials as well as the U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division and Warrior Resiliency Program. Her current project, TX STRIDE (Strength Through Resilience in Diabetes Education), examines behavioral and biological pathways by which resilience resources impact type 2 diabetes health-related outcomes. The project is funded by the NIH’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
Dr. Steinhardt received the First Annual Dean’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2002 and the Texas Excellence Teaching Award given by the Texas Exes Student Association in 2003. She was selected to the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at The University of Texas at Austin in 2004, received the Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award in 2011, and was appointed as a Senior Provost Teaching Fellow in 2013. Dr. Steinhardt also serves as UT Austin’s associate vice president for research, research integrity officer (RIO). Prior to serving as the RIO, Mary served as the University Faculty Ombuds for 12 years. In 2017, she received The Civitatis Award, the highest distinction made by The University of Texas at Austin in recognition of outstanding faculty citizenship.
Dr. Steinhardt lives in Cedar Park, Texas, with her husband John. They have two daughters, Megan (a graduate of Washington and Lee University and The University of Texas at Austin, currently a psychotherapist in Washington, D.C.) and Linda (a graduate of the University of Missouri at Columbia and The University of Texas at Austin, currently a registered dietitian in Denver).
Mary’s favorite places? Estes Park, Emerald Isle. Favorite movies? Erin Brockovich, The Six Triple Eight. Favorite Podcast? Letters from an American. Favorite thing to do? Girls’ night out with Megan and Linda.
Acknowledgments
A very special thanks to former UT President Larry Faulkner for funding the development of this program. I love working at an academic institution whose core purpose is “to transform lives for the benefit of society.” This project is my humble attempt to contribute to that worthy purpose by helping citizens in the great state of Texas and around the world transform their lives through resilience education.
The Transforming Lives Through Resilience Education website would not have been possible without the help of so many wonderful people at The University of Texas at Austin. I am grateful to Renulfo Ramirez and Mark McFarland for supporting this project, Tim Kerr, who did the audio, Arnie Flores, the graphic designer, and Dr. Lucas Horton, Director of Instructional Innovation, College of Education, and his staff for their design work and for hosting the resilience program free of charge on our college website.
I also want to thank my corporate colleagues for allowing me to teach and learn in their environment. Special thanks to Sandi Aitken of Motorola for her faith in my ability to develop and teach the material. The original project, Transforming Stress into Resilience, was her idea. Thanks also to Nancy Lesch of Motorola for her creativity, Rebecca Ryan-Swift and Gail Sulak of 3M for their leadership and support, Dr. Tre McCalister of Dell for her contributions to the curriculum and our research projects, and Bill and Dr. Linda McCarley for their professional consulting throughout the project.
Contact
Mary A. Steinhardt
Department of Kinesiology and Health Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Email: MSteinhardt@austin.utexas.edu