Greetings psychology alums! In July, I began my service as Chair of the Miami Department of Psychology, and I'm proud to help lead the efforts of nearly 40 faculty and staff members who serve our students so well!
This year, psychology topped more than 1000 undergraduate majors! Yet, despite our considerable size, we make sure that students receive a personalized, intellectually-rich education. Indeed, more than 400 of them are involved in independent study projects overseen by faculty and graduate students. This student commitment produces results -- 42% of our graduating seniors go directly on to grad school and another 42% go directly into full-time employment immediately following graduation. Our student success rate of 96% (i.e., only 4% of our graduates are searching for a position immediately after graduation) is far above national averages.
In addition, our department has over 60 doctoral students pursuing their PhDs in three areas of training: clinical, social, and brain, cognitive, and developmental science. Our graduate students are very accomplished, and we currently have 4 different National Science Foundation Fellowship recipients in our doctoral program (in fact, the majority of Miami's NSF Fellows can be found in our department).
Our faculty are very accomplished as well. They are world-class researchers and teachers, who publish nearly 100 peer-reviewed papers in the average year and last year brought in more than $3.7M in extramural grants to support their research. Our faculty routinely win top university honors and, in the past five years, have been recognized with Miami's Distinguished Teaching Award for Excellence in Graduate Instruction and Mentoring, a University Distinguished Professorship, and three different Junior Faculty Scholar Awards. And this year, we added two new faculty members to our department: Drs. Allison Farrell (who studies relationships and their health consequences) and Jeffrey Hunger (who studies social stigma and its implications for health).
We are also excited about our Psychology Alumni Advisory Board, which is a collection of 10 alums who provide input on our teaching curriculum and assist students in seeking internship and employment opportunities. This group has developed impressive programming for our students, ranging from diverse career paths for psychology majors (presented in September) to a series of professional development workshops (presented in March). Our alumni board is led by Stacey Jaffe (Miami, 2003; now Director of Digital Content and Enterprise Social Media at Scholastic Inc.) and Erika Minnick (Miami 2011; now Project Manager at Facebook). We are so honored by their energy and commitment to Miami -- they report that many of their most important professional insight moments came from their Miami classes and professors.
I hope that you, too, feel the same way. My colleagues and I recognize what a privilege it is to work with so many talented students who are going to do great things in the years ahead. We have been touched that our recent fundraising efforts have set new records, including our #MoveInMiami fundraiser this August that raised thousands of dollars to help support research travel for our students. We appreciate your financial support of our department that allows us to assist our students and faculty in their scholarly endeavors, and we are planning some exciting alumni networking efforts in the coming year to help connect with our alums not only in Oxford, but in places such as Chicago as well. Stay tuned for details soon!
As I look back at my first semester as chair, my pride and gratitude for our faculty, staff, and students only grows. We hope that as Miami Psychology alums you stay in touch with us, share your stories with us, and support us as we train the next generation of psychologists. Please stay in touch with us in social media and look for our spring newsletter next year. Until then, all the best during the holidays, and here's to a joyous new year!
Allen R. McConnell
University Distinguished Professor and
Chair, Department of Psychology
