Jaime "Jim" L. Diaz-Granados, PhD

Jaime "Jim" L. Diaz-Granados, PhD, is the deputy chief executive officer of the American Psychological Association, responsible for working with the CEO in developing, implementing and assessing the association’s strategy, policies and goals, and overseeing major programmatic areas. Diaz-Granados joined APA in January 2015 and previously served as APA’s chief education officer, overseeing programs to enhance the quality of teaching and learning outcomes at all levels of education and for increasing financial and policy support for psychology education and training.

A longtime leader in psychology higher education, Diaz-Granados joined the executive board of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology in 2010, and was named board chair in 2012. As a member of the APA Commission on Accreditation, he served as co-chair for program review and chair of the Research Working Group.

Diaz-Granados is an experienced researcher in the developmental, behavioral and neurochemical aspects of alcohol abuse and addiction. Before joining the Education Directorate he was a professor of psychology, neuroscience and biomedical studies and chair of the department of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University. He previously served as the director of the Baylor Addictions Research Consortium and as a member of review panels and committees with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. He has received more than $1.5 million in research grants and awards during his career.

Diaz-Granados is the author or co-author of nearly 60 research articles and published abstracts. His work has been presented at more than 60 scientific meetings in the United States, Canada and Great Britain.

Dias-Granados’ professional affiliations include the Fetal Alcohol Study Group, Research Society on Alcoholism, the Society of Neuroscience, the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism, the American Association of University Professors, the International Society for Developmental Psychobiology and the Nu Rho Psi National Honor Society for Neuroscience.

Diaz-Granados earned his PhD in psychology in 1994 from the University of Texas at Austin, where he also completed his undergraduate studies in 1986. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina in 1996.