Prison Dog Programs

Mary Renck Jalongo, Ph.D. is a Professor Emerita at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) where she served as director of the Doctoral Program in Curriculum and Instruction. In 1991-1992, Mary was named the University's distinguished professor, a university-wide award based on teaching, research, and service.

Her work with Springer Nature includes 25 years of experience as the editor-in-chief of a journal and 13 years of experience as editor of a book series. She has authored, co-authored, and/or edited over 30 textbooks and scholarly works with leading publishers. In addition, she is the recipient of six national awards for excellence in writing.

Her recent research, articles, and books have focused on the human-canine bond. Since 2006, she has volunteered extensively in the community with her registered, trained, and insured greyhounds and collies. She currently serves as an evaluator of handler/ therapy dog teams for Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Since 2015 she has been collaborating with staff from the Pennsylvania State Correctional Institution Pine Grove to teach inmate/trainers of service dogs. Upon successful completion of four courses and training of a service dog, inmates can earn a certificate of completion in dog training and humane education from IUP.