Fall 2005 Department Newsletter
Volume 1, Issue 1 website:www.wm.edu/psyc Fall 2005
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Table of Contents
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Dinner was delicious and conversations were stimulating. It was a wonderful time to renew old acquaintances and hear of the diverse paths taken by our Psychology majors. |
50th Anniversary of Psychology Department MA Program There were just under 100 people in attendance at the 50 th Anniversary Dinner held at the Hospitality House in Williamsburg on May 21, 2005 . A poster session was also held. Alumni and family enjoyed seeing what fellow alums were currently involved in. We were honored to have the first graduate of the MA program, Bob Canestrari , and his wife, Sally, in attendance. The longest distance traveled was a 3 way tie, all who came from CA. There were 4 Dept chairs present • E. Rae Harcum 1976-1982 |
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Prof. Constance Pilkington is Our New Department Chair |
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I
arrived at William & Mary in 1990 to a fully tenured department. My
original e-mail address was wpspcjp@wmmvs.cc.wm.edu . I was one of less
than a handful of people in the department who used e-mail, and
students did not. Statistical analyses had to be done on the mainframe,
and you had to walk across campus to pick up your print-outs. Power
outages were so common in Williamsburg that they kept candles
underneath the bar at the Greenleafe, and those of us who had interior
offices in the department kept flashlights in our desk drawers. The Psychology Department has adapted to all of these changes. We have survived two challenges to our Master's program. We have fit our courses into a newly structured general requirement curriculum. We have carved out bits of space here and there for new faculty research space. And we have managed to meet the ever-growing undergraduate demand for our courses. As the new chairperson of the department, my goal is to move us to the next level. Instead of adapting reactively, I would like to see the department begin to act more proactively. To do so, I plan to encourage innovation and thinking outside the box. We can always take what we have, fiddle with it a little, and make it work. But I believe it is much more invigorating to set goals and move toward them with creativity. Harvey Langholtz once told me that if the Psychology Department ever went to war, he'd want me next to him in the trenches. To continue with his military metaphor, I say, let's storm that hill and take it. (top) |
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..Heartfelt thanks to Prof. W. Larry Ventis |
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for
his many contributions to the Department as the first Chair in the new
millennium, 2000-2005! During his 5 ½ years as Chair, Prof. Ventis has
• led the department through an extended renovation planning and design process After working many long hours for the Psychology Department, Professor Ventis will be taking a much deserved leave from teaching during 2005-2006 . We look forward to his return to teaching in the Fall of 2006. (top) |
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Saying Goodbye to Prof. Kelly Shaver |
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Professor Kelly Shaver has retired from the College of William and Mary effective July 1, 2005 . Kelly arrived at W&M in 1968. During his tenure here he taught courses in undergraduate and graduate studies, such as : • Organizational Behavior His Research Interests included: • Theoretical and applied research on entrepreneurship. Although Professor Shaver has retired, he can't quit working!! He has taken a position at the College of Charleston as Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies with joint appointments as Professor of Management and Professor of Psychology. We will miss him and wish him happiness at his new endeavor! You can contact him at: shaverk@cofc.edu (top) |
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New 2005 Faculty Member Prof. Janice Zeman |
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Academic History: |
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Jennifer Stevens, PhD Assistant Professor, Psychology Department, Director, SOAR – Studies On Action Representation, WM Cognitive Neuroscience Lab, Room 111, Bell Hall Inherent to the human ability to succeed in action are skills for perception, representation, and refinement of biomechanically possible movement sequences. My research uses psychophysical, clinical, and brain imaging paradigms to examine how the mind and brain integrate these processes. Our current investigations examine typical and atypical populations in movement decision, route learning, and mental imagery tasks. (top) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Todd Thrash, PhD (& family ) Assistant Professor Psychology Department |
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Peter M. Vishton, Ph.D . Assistant Professor, Psychology Department My research focuses on visually-controlled actions such as reaching and driving. My collaborators and I have uncovered evidence that when we engage in these action behaviors, the information processing characteristics of our visual system change, often in fundamental ways, often on a moment-by-moment basis. In addition to studying these effects in adults, I am interested in using reaching to assess what young infants know (and don't know) about the world around them.(top) |
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Melissa received her BA in Psychology from William and Mary in May of 2005. While a student here she did research in the vivarium for Professor Barnet's Comparative Psychology class, and then over the Christmas break filled in to help at the lab. She really enjoyed once again working with animals, and when the position became available, she applied and was hired. Melissa is not new to animal care. She has worked as an Animal Care professional for the past 15 years. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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She has experience as a veterinary technician and a groomer. She is
also a Certified Dog Behavioral Consultant working in K-9 obedience
training and pet care consultation. Melissa has come full circle and
once again is doing the work she loves – caring for animals.(top) |
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Professor Christopher Ball will be on sabbatical during 2005-2006. Professor Joe Galano , was recognized as a “Shining Star,” for his Distinguished Contribution for Leadership in the Community, by Williamsburg / James City County Community Action Agency, Williamsburg , VA , in April, 2005. Professor Pamela Hunt , was recently awarded a 5-year Research Project grant from the National Institutes of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The project's focus is to study memory deficits in an animal model of fetal alcohol syndrome, and to assess possible treatments for these cognitive impairments. Professor John Nezlek will be on research leave at Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, in Leuven , Belgium for the fall and spring semesters. Professor Larry Ventis will be on leave from teaching responsibilities and will serve during this year as William and Mary's representative to the Psy. D. Council of Directors. Professor Neill Watson has stepped down as the William and Mary Director of the Psy.D. program and will be retiring May 2006 to focus on his program of research. (top) |
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Congratulations on a job well done!!! |
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We Would Like to Welcome Our New This year we had 88 applications for the MA Program. The following seven students were accepted into the Graduate program:
We look forward to getting to know each one of them over the next two years. We KNOW we will be seeing a lot of them!
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| If you would like to support the Psychology Department / Program you can make a gift by logging on to: https://www.development.wm.edu/ecommerce/givenow.asp?passed_alloc=1753 and completing the online form. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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America believes in education: the average professor earns more money in a year |
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