Dear Alumni, Students, Colleagues, and Friends,
It is with delight that I present the Spring 2018 edition of the Department of Psychology Newsletter! This past year, the Department underwent its mandatory once-in-seven-years Academic Program Review (APR) to ensure that the Department is fulfilling the University’s goals of excellence. In addition to an external review team visiting the Department and examining all of our current academic programs and their trajectories into the future, a key part of the APR is our own self-study which highlights our views on these issues. One of our core values, expressed in our self-study, is the promotion of diversity and inclusion, which means that our mission of providing excellence in teaching, research, and service can only be accomplished by maintaining an academic community composed of diverse faculty, students, and staff, who are able to explore and convey their expertise in an environment that promotes academic freedom.
Psychology Department Fund
The Department of Psychology at the University of Nebraska is still going strong for approximately 128 years since psychology was first taught in 1889 by Harry K. Wolfe. You are part of that history and you can help the department have a long and impressive future! Financial gifts from alumni and friends are a vital source of support for the psychology department.
Fond Farewells
Congratulate and bid farewell to our retiring faculty.
Look back at the service ofDennis Molfese
New Additions
Welcome our newest faculty members.
The Sarata Diversity Enhancement Committee
It has been a challenging and exciting year for work on diversity issues. Named in honor of former faculty member Dr. Brian Sarata after his untimely passing in 1996, the Sarata Diversity Enhancement Committee is charged with promoting diversity enhancement efforts within the Department of Psychology. We strive to continue the work that began and has evolved since the original formation of the “Minority Recruitment Committee” in the 1970s.
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Holder
Graduate student Abigail Riemer with colleagues Michelle Haikalis, Molly Franz, Mike Dodd, David DiLillo, and Sarah Gervais, recently published “Beauty is in the Eye of the Beer Holder: An Initial Investigation of the Effects of Alcohol, Attractiveness, Warmth, and Competence on the Objectifying Gaze in Men" in the journal Sex Roles.
Nebraska Motivation Symposium on Emotion in the Mind and Body April 2018
This year, for the 66th Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, the Department brought together two affective neuroscientists: one in Psychology (Maital Neta) and one in Political Science (Ingrid Haas) to organize our annual Nebraska Symposium on Motivation.
One Book One Department By Debra Hope, Professor of Psychology, Clinical Program
Several discussions in the department highlighted the need to increase our sophistication around multicultural issues in our graduate and undergraduate instruction. We wanted to be sure that our graduate students were prepared to address multicultural content and reach students of all backgrounds, both when they taught as graduate students at UNL and in future careers that might involve teaching. Also, we became aware that some members of the faculty¬ were interested in enhancing their sophistication around multicultural issues in the classroom but were unsure how to proceed. When the College of Arts and Sciences offered an Instructional Enhancement Grant, Deb Hope, Rick Bevins, and Scott Stoltenberg developed an application to meet these needs. This grant also was one of the cornerstones of the Department’s overall commitment to diversity as expressed in our self-study report as part of the Academic Program Review process that occurred this past year.
Alumni Spotlights
It’s always exciting to hear from former psychology students and hear how they are creatively using their degrees. This year, we caught up with May 2016 graduate Kyli Rood and May 2017 graduate Akua Dawes.
Harry K. Wolfe, Academic Freedom, and the 1918 Nebraska Professors TrialBY DAVID MOSHMAN, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
Harry Kirke Wolfe (1858-1918), who brought psychology to Nebraska, died a century ago on July 30, 1918, weeks after being subjected, along with others, to an extraordinary trial before the University of Nebraska Board of Regents. They were charged, essentially, with sedition.
Psyched Up! Analyzing Psychology Learning Community
Are you familiar with UNL’s Learning Communities? Learning Communities are groups of first-year students who share a common major (or academic interest), live on the same floor of a residence hall, take classes together, meet with a peer mentor, and participate in career and academic activities that pertain to their area of interest. The Psyched Up! Learning Community made its debut four years ago.
2018 Department of Psychology Awards Celebration Honors Undergraduate Accomplishments
The psychology department held the annual Awards Celebration on April 10, 2017, in the Nebraska Union. The annual event provided an opportunity to celebrate the impressive accomplishments of our outstanding undergraduate students.
University Professional Staff Serve the Needs of the Psychology Department
Greetings from Melody Scholl-Miller and Eyde Olson! We are professional staff from the University who provide essential services to members of the Psychology Department! We would like to introduce ourselves.
Psychology Department Faculty, Students, and Staff are Recognized for their Work
The psychology department faculty, students, and staff have had some impressive accomplishments over the last year. Below is a brief snapshot of some recent happenings.