Greetings from the Chair

Photo: Sheri Mizumori

The 2013-2014 year is off to a fabulous start. We celebrated the arrival of three new faculty members (Jonathan Kanter, Kate McLaughlin, and Kristina Olson) who will significantly enrich the clinical and developmental aspects of our research and instructional missions. We are also thrilled to begin work with our new graduate students and undergraduate majors who arrived from all parts of the country. The accomplishments of our senior graduate students and majors continue to be simply stunning!

Last year, we began to expand our efforts to bring the amazing research results and expertise of our faculty and students to the public in the most meaningful and rapid way possible. Thanks to the generous and much appreciated contributions from a number of our Friends of Psychology, we added more public lectures and workshops on topics of interest to the broader community. The list of events and activities continues to grow this year. In addition to our long-standing and very popular Edwards Public Lecture Series (2014 theme: The Science of Decision Making), multiple new public events will be sponsored by the Mindful Living and Practice Initiative of our Center for Child and Family Well Being.  Our new Certificate in Autism Theory and Practice was launched this fall.  This Certificate program links a fundamental science-based understanding of autism spectrum disorders with best practices for treatment and intervention.  Thanks to the hard work by Associate Professor Kevin King, the Psychology Department now supports the UW in High School Psychology courses by working with high school teachers and administrators to insure that local high school students receive college level preparation in their Advanced Placement Psychology classes. Our effort to connect with K-12 educational missions of the greater Seattle area continues in the form of faculty and student participation in local science fairs and events. Integrating all levels of our community with the scientific and educational goals of the Psychology Department has been deeply enriching for our faculty and students, and we hope for the community as well.  I hope you have a chance to participate in the many upcoming departmental events this year!

I hope that you and your family have the most joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy 2014!

Best wishes,

Sheri Mizumori