Mary Lee Jensvold is a senior lecturer at

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academic and Student Life ...

. She was the Director of the

Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute The Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute (CHCI) was located on the campus of Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Washington. CHCI included a sanctuary for chimpanzees who have learned to communicate with humans and each other using ...

( CHCI) located on the campus of Central Washington University. CHCI was the home of the

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

Washoe and four other chimpanzees who use the signs of

American Sign Language American Sign Language (ASL) is a natural language that serves as the predominant sign language of Deaf communities in the United States of America and most of Anglophone Canadians, Anglophone Canada. ASL is a complete and organized visual lang ...

to communicate with one another and their human caregivers. Jensvold studies

communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...

and other behaviors in chimpanzees. She had been working with Washoe and her family since 1986. In 1985 she received a B.A. in

Psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries betwe ...

from the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, in 1989 a M.S. in

Experimental Psychology Experimental psychology refers to work done by those who apply experimental methods to psychological study and the underlying processes. Experimental psychologists employ human participants and animal subjects to study a great many topics, in ...

from

, and in 1996 a Ph.D. in

from the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

. She specializes in ethological studies of

great apes The Hominidae (), whose members are known as the great apes or hominids (), are a taxonomic family of primates that includes eight extant species in four genera: '' Pongo'' (the Bornean, Sumatran and Tapanuli orangutan); ''Gorilla'' (the east ...

animal intelligence Animal cognition encompasses the mental capacities of non-human animals including insect cognition. The study of animal conditioning and learning used in this field was developed from comparative psychology. It has also been strongly influenc ...

, communication, and language. Her studies include chimpanzee conversational skills, imaginary play in chimpanzees, and

environmental enrichment Environmental enrichment is the stimulation of the brain by its physical and social surroundings. Brains in richer, more stimulating environments have higher rates of synaptogenesis and more complex dendrite arbors, leading to increased brain ac ...

for captive chimpanzees. She is currently Senior Lecturer in the Primate Behavior and Ecology Program and the Anthropology Department at

. She also serves on the Advisory Council of

METI (Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence) METI International, known simply as METI, is a non-profit research organization that creates and transmits interstellar messages to attempt to communicate with extraterrestrial civilizations. In July 2015, the papers to form METI were filed by ...

References

External links

*http://www.cwu.edu/anthropology/mary-lee-jensvold Jensvold official website at CWU *http://www.cwu.edu/anthropology/sites/cts.cwu.edu.anthropology/files/documents/jensvold%20vita%207-18.pdf Jensvold official CV
Friends of WashoeCentral Washington University - Primate Behavior & Ecology ProgramCentral Washington University - Anthropology Department
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jensvold, Mary Lee Animal communication Animal intelligence University of Oregon alumni Central Washington University alumni University of Nevada, Reno alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People involved with sign language

See also

References

External links