The Psychology Department is pleased to announce that Dr. Naomi Tabak will become the Director of the Psychology Clinic on August 1.  Dr. Tabak received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Miami University.  Most recently, she worked as Acting Associate Director of the Cognitive Behavior Therapy for the psychosis clinic at the West LA VA in Los Angeles. Welcome, Naomi!

Dr. Ben Tabak and Dr. Priscilla Lui will be joining the department as assistant professors beginning in July. Dr. Tabak, after receiving his doctoral degree from the University of Miami, has been a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA.  There he studied such topics as the neuro-endocrinological bases of psychopathology, as well as gene-environment interactions. Dr. Lui, a graduate of Purdue University, recently completed her internship at Northwestern University’s McGaw Medical Center. Her research interests include psychopathology, mental health problems of Asian Americans, and, more generally, diversity and well-being. The department is delighted to welcome them!

President George W. Bush dropped in on Dr. Hampson’s Psychology of the Family class this past spring. President Bush talked about, among other topics, his own family and his experience raising two daughters.

Margaret Sala received the 2016 Willis Tate Award for Outstanding Graduate Student. Great work, Margaret!

Courtney Underwood received the Psychology Department’s Exemplary Alumnus Award at the Psychology Department’s 2016 Graduation Ceremony. She majored in Psychology and graduated from SMU in 2005.  After working in commercial real estate for several years, she became a leader in North Texas in promoting programs to assist survivors of rape. She co-founded the Dallas Rape Crisis Center and, since 2013 has been the Executive Director of the SANE Initiative in Dallas. Based on her exemplary work to improve the community on behalf of survivors of sexual violence, the Department was proud to award her this honor.

“Promoting the well-being of women and children in Pakistan: A psychological perspective”
Dr. Iftikhar N. Hassan

Wednesday, April 27 noon
Yarborough Conference Room (ET-13th floor)

Bridging the Word Gap: Applying New Findings to Community-based Early Intervention. Talk by Dr. Margaret Owen, U.T. – Dallas

The talk will be  in the Yarborough Room (1334) in Expressway Tower.

Margaret Sala has been awarded a 3-year NSF graduate fellowship.  These fellowships are very competitive. Congratulations Margaret!

Rose Ashraf won the prize for best graduate student paper at the biennial meeting of the Society for Research in Human Development, in Denver, on March 18.  Her talk was based on her master’s thesis and titled: Harsh verbal discipline in the home: Predictors of child compliance.  Congratulations, Rose!

Chelsey Werchan (along with Juliet Kroll, three undergraduates, and mentor Thomas Ritz) received a Dean’s Award for her study presented at Research Day. The title was “Oral nitrate supplementation during final exam stress: Associations with cold symptoms and exhaled nitric oxide.”

Nicole Vu (along with Caitlin Rancher and mentors Ernie Jouriles & Renee McDonald) also won a Dean’s Award for her study: “Children’s threat appraisals of interparental conflict: The role of interparental conflict, parental availability, and children’s anxiety.”