After returning to California to complete high school, she entered the University of California in Riverside. In addition to positions as tutor, teacher, research assistance and junior statistician, she received a fellowship to begin a doctoral program at the University of California in Los Angeles to study a new area of Special Education: Specific Learning Disability. She continued with her teaching and research while working on her doctorate. In August of 1974, she received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Education with an emphasis on Special Education. Her doctoral dissertation was Language Acquisition and Concept Formation in Educationally Handicapped and Normal Achieving Children. This developmental study consisted of elementary and junior high students with Specific Learning Disabilities, Mental Retardation, and Emotional Disturbance, in addition to Normal Achieving Students.

Dr. Haight joined the Special Education faculty at CMU in 1973 as an Assistant Professor. She is certified in the areas of Cognitive Impairment, Emotional Impairment, Learning Disabilities and Psychology. Her research and publications are focused on the areas of learning disabilities, teacher education candidate admission/selection, consultation/collaboration and the Strategic Instruction Model.

In 1991, after several visits to Europe, Dr. Haight was invited to join the People to People International U.S.--China Education Delegation to Beijing. The ten days learning about special education programs in China, as well as the history and culture of the Far East, were fascinating. For instance, she learned that acupuncture and electrical impulse stimulation are major components of special education services in the public schools in China.

During the 1999-2000 academic year, Dr. Haight was granted a Sabbatical Leave to study the Strategic Instruction Model (SIM), as well as other research grant projects at the University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning (KU-CRL). Her work with grant directors, doctoral students, schools, and Dr. Don Deshler were very rewarding experiences. She continues to incorporate SIM in her undergraduate and graduate classes, as well as maintaining her certification as a SIM Trainer.

Based on her experiences at the University of Kansas, Dr. Haight was able to bring the web modules from the Online Academy to CMU. The topics of these modules are Positive Behavioral Support, Reading and Learning Disabilities, and Technology in Special Education. Her most recent interest has been using Blackboard 6 for on-campus course enhancement and teaching the KU web modules from the Online Academy at KU through DDL at CMU.

Dr. Haight has taught several Special Education graduate classes for CMU in Hawaii (1996 to 2002), and she has traveled to the islands of Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai, and Lanai. She enjoys visiting the Hawaiian Islands whenever possible, as well as staying current in special education in general, and the area of specific learning disability, particularly.