Letter from the Chair

Greetings, friends! 

Spring is a wonderfully celebratory time of the year! Starting with the UW’s magnificent cherry blossom display in April, the renewed energy that we see at the beginning of spring culminates in June with the jubilant graduation by our bachelors, Masters, and PhD students. Their achievements are nothing short of inspiring because of the high level of effort, resilience and perseverance that it represents.  Congratulations to the Class of 2023! I wish you all the best as you enter one of the many careers that are now open to you! Please keep in touch, as we love to hear from our alums!

In this past year, the department has also made significant strides towards its many missions. As an example, with respect to our mission to Optimize Human Potential by Increasing One’s Resilience, we are excited to announce that our Master of Arts in Applied Child and Adolescent Psychology: Prevention and Treatment program (https://www.appliedchildpsych.uw.edu) recently received $2.2+ million from the State of Washington. These funds will be used to double its cohort size of future mental health professionals, and to provide scholarships for historically underrepresented student. This state support, along with federal support to other clinical programs in the department, will enable us to impact the youth mental health crisis in substantial ways. 

It has been an honor to serve as interim Chair this past year as faculty and students forged new and elaborated paths of cross-disciplinary research and scholarships. This type of cross-disciplinary effort can synergize the work of individuals in ways that can lead to more impactful solutions to society’s challenges. This type of teamwork across the department is clearly a strong sign that Psychology has a bright future! Of course, none of this would have been possible without our phenomenal staff who run the day-to-day business of the department. Deep gratitude is expressed for their tremendous support!

Finally, I have the pleasure to announce that Dr. Joseph Sisneros will be taking over as the next Chair of Psychology effective July 1, 2023.  Dr. Sisneros is an outstanding researcher and teacher, and a tireless leader of equity and service. I very much look forward to his guidance and leadership as the Psychology department continues to Promote Healthy Minds and Society Through Psychological Science.

I wish all of the friends of Psychology the most wonderful summer! I hope to see many of you in the coming year!

Sincerely,

Professor Sheri J. Y. Mizumori

Chair, Department of Psychology