Jeral has over 25 years in the field of psychology and research. His early work was as a case manager and then as a residential counselor in in-patient settings. He worked for several years as a psychometrician validating, implementing and evaluating psychological tests such as personality measures.
He was the Director of Research and Creative Scholarship from 2013 to 2019 at the University of Arizona, Global Campus. He has taught many research courses for DU’s University College and other universities for over ten years. His research focuses on social psychology, personality traits and research methods that focus on human behavior. He has also worked as a consultant in the areas of program evaluation, institutional assessment, and organizational development.
Jeral believes in a learner-centered approach to student learning with a focus on attaining tangible skills and applied competencies. In the classroom, he encourages collaborative learning, dialogue and the use of real-world, hands-on problems to acquire and enhance statistical skills and quantitative knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs).
Jeral earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Tennessee, a B.S. in Anthropology from the University of Tennessee, an M.A. in Educational Psychology from the University of Tennessee, a Ph.D. in Social-Personality Psychology/Educational Psychology and Research from the University of Tennessee and an M.S. Applied Statistics from Penn State University.