December 7, 2005
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INDIANA UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR SHARON STEPHENS BREHM ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION FOR 2007

Indiana University has a strong history with the APA. A former president, William Lowe Bryan, PhD, whose presidency ran from 1902 to 1937, was also president of the APA in 1903.

Dr. Brehm received a BA and PhD from Duke University and an AM from Harvard. She has had a distinguished career in psychology. Her research has examined the effects of psychological reactance, empathy, and self-focus. She has published numerous articles and chapters as well as highly regarded monographs (e.g., The application of social psychology to clinical practice; Psychological reactance: A theory of freedom and control) and edited collections (e. g., Developmental Social Psychology: Theory and Research; Seeing female: Social roles and personal lives). In collaboration with her colleagues, she has also published multiple editions of textbooks focusing on intimate relationships and social psychology. During her fifteen years as a faculty member at the University of Kansas, Dr. Brehm was selected as an Intra-University Professor at the University of Kansas, inducted into the University of Kansas Women's Hall of Fame, and appointed as a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales.

Dr. Brehm has also served in a number of academic administrative positions, including director of the College Honors Program at the University of Kansas, dean of the Harper College of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Binghamton, provost at Ohio University, and chancellor of the Indiana University Bloomington campus. She is active in educational, professional, and community organizations, including the Board of Directors of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, Board of Directors of the Bloomington Area Arts Council, Board of Trustees of Medaille College, and the Board of Directors of the Foundation for Personality and Social Psychology.

During her presidency, Dr. Brehm will focus on two major areas that she believes are crucial for the association and its members. First, she will emphasize the importance of communications. "In any large, complex organization, communication is crucial for reaching one's goals. We must enhance both internal and external communications," Brehm states.

Brehm is a strong proponent for increasing advocacy on behalf of psychology. "Making our case to state and federal legislators and agencies is absolutely essential for the long-term success of psychology," she states.

Additionally, Dr. Brehm wants to see the APA website up-dated and expanded so that it can serve not only as a directory and repository, but also as a major source of resource materials (e.g., videos, interactive features, etc.) for students, teachers, scientists, and practitioners. She will encourage the association to develop a public education program for psychological science, to facilitate communication between scientists and practitioners on evidence-based practice, and to create a series of high-profile symposiums that highlight the importance of psychology on public policy.

Dr. Brehm's second area of emphasis is on preparing psychology for the future. Her interests in this area are wide-ranging. She stresses the importance of reaching out to students and to early career psychologists. "There is nothing more important in any community than nurturing the next generation. APA has been active in this area, but I would like to see its efforts become even more vigorous."

Science and math education is another area where psychology has much to contribute, says Brehm. She believes that we need to develop new methods of teaching math and science in order to improve performance among all students, but particularly among women, African-Americans, and Hispanics who are underrepresented in most mathematical and scientific fields.

The aging of the US population is another issue of great interest and concern for Brehm. This demographic shift will, she believes, create a major healthcare crisis. One likely outcome of this crisis will be increased recognition of the need to develop integrative healthcare, in which psychologists and medical personnel work together to address the interaction between physical and psychological health.

"The healthcare crisis will be just one effect of the aging of the population. There will be many other social, financial, and educational issues that will present major challenges to individuals and the society as a whole. Psychology has much to offer to our country and others that will be undergoing this historic development," Brehm notes.

Brehm will serve as a member of the APA Board of Directors and the association's president-elect in 2006. She will assume the office of president on January 1, 2007.