Every biography tells a story and if you look closely enough you can see the career and life themes. If there is one transcendent theme in my career it is a focus on change and the integration of diverse perspectives.
Raised in a military family, and having served in the military (I was an officer in the U.S. Air Force before I could legally drink or vote), I learned how to adjust to continuous change. As a first-generation Latino American on my mother's side, I experienced firsthand this country's curious attitudes to immigrants and their children. As a graduate student at Michigan State University, I studied industrial-organizational and clinical psychology. As a professional, I've worked in the private and not-for-profit sectors. My APA fellowships include Divs. 12 (Society of Clinical Psychology), 13 (Society of Consulting Psychology), 14 (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology), 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) and 52 (International). I have always been both a scholar and a practitioner.
Throughout my career, I've always been drawn to leadership and entrepreneurial roles — and the ones drawn to me seem typically to be high-risk start-ups and turnarounds. I've been a department chair, dean, provost, acting president/president of two universities, president of two psychological societies, and I've consulted for several organizations in the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors. I understand complex organizations and how to help them become more effective.
I have taught and conducted research at several universities, including Michigan, Duke's School of Medicine and the University of North Texas. Since 1998, I've been with the California School of Professional Psychology (now part of Alliant International University) where I am a distinguished professor.
I have authored or co-authored more than 130 scholarly publications and made hundreds of professional presentations all over the world. My books include "An Introduction to Consulting Psychology: Working with Individuals, Groups, and Organizations"; "Internationalizing Multiculturalism: Expanding Professional Competencies in a Globalized World"; "Handbook of Organizational Consulting Psychology"; "The Ethical Practice of Psychology in Organizations (2nd ed.)"; "The Clinical Practice of Career Assessment: Interests, Abilities, and Personality"; and "Counseling and Psychotherapy of Work Dysfunctions."
I am past editor of two APA-published journals, Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research and The Psychologist-Manager Journal, for which I served as founding editor. I am series editor of APA's "Fundamentals of Consulting Psychology" book series. My writings and research emphasize assessment, professional ethics, consulting psychology and work dysfunctions.
My career has included many leadership positions in APA and other organizations. I am past president of the Society of Consulting Psychology and the Society for Psychologists in Management. I have served as elected APA council representative from two divisions and was the inaugural chair of the Council Leadership Team, and have also chaired several APA boards and committees. I am co-chair of the search committee for APA's new CEO.
A licensed psychologist in California, I live in San Diego with my wife, clinical psychologist Dr. Linda Richardson. Our daughter is an entrepreneur and writer finishing an MBA at Cornell University.
Lowman's candidate statement
Whether in good times or bad we are psychologists. We conduct research that advances knowledge, assess and heal individuals, groups and organizations, and we contribute substantially to making the world a better place by applying our science to real-world problems.
Whether in good times or bad, we are members and leaders of the American Psychological Association, the largest professional association of psychologists in the world. APA's mission is to serve the public by advancing "the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives." APA influences the courts with its amicus briefs, guides policy and is widely looked to with considerable respect.
Yet sometimes we stumble. When we do, whether at the individual or organizational level, our ethics mandate that we acknowledge and correct our mistakes, admit our vulnerabilities, fix what ails us and move on. This is difficult work that takes courage and honesty. But by understanding the mistakes that were made we can create the necessary checks and balances to assure past errors will not repeat themselves.
There are those who are pessimistic about the future of psychology and of APA. I am not among them. In my academic roles, I am energized by the extraordinary talent we continue to attract to the field. And when I look into the faces of my students, I do not find them uncertain about the future of psychology. To the contrary, they are as enthusiastic about the profession as I was — and am.
I would welcome the chance to serve as APA's president not as a personal honor — though it is that — but as an opportunity to continue the complicated, difficult work to help APA beyond its current distressed state and to emerge as a stronger, better, more mission-focused and consistently ethical organization.