He received a B.A. in statistics with a minor in psychology from the University of California, Davis, and then went on to receive his Ph. D. in quantitative psychology from UCLA in 2007. For his dissertation, he tested a structural equation model to predict successful “clutch” performance under pressure, based on psychological variables such as perceived control. He continues to make performance issues a primary focus of his research at CSUN. In addition to undergraduate and graduate statistics classes, Mark teaches a course in advanced social psychology (theme: sport and exercise). As of ’12 he has now attended the AASP conference five times. An avid tennis player, Mark also volunteers coaching the UCLA club tennis team, which won the 2011 Tennis on Campus national championship under his direction.