Clemson University psychologist Richard Pak, PhD, has been elected to the College of Fellows for the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Pak is director of Clemson’s Human Factors Institute, and his research explores human-automation and human-robot interaction.
Tamra Williams, PhD, has been named director of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services in Pennsylvania. Williams previously served as the chief clinical officer of Community Behavioral Health, a behavioral health managed care organization in Philadelphia.
The University of Louisville has named Dayna Touron, PhD, as dean of its College of Arts and Sciences. Touron was previously a psychology professor and associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Touron’s research focuses on metacognition and memory in older adulthood.
Safa Zaki, PhD, has been named the next president of Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Her term begins July 1, 2023. Zaki will be the first woman to lead Bowdoin since its founding in 1794. She is currently dean of the faculty and the John B. McCoy and John T. McCoy Professor of Psychology at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Anita Thomas, PhD, has been named the 11th president of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Thomas is the first woman and the first person of color to lead the college. In addition, she will hold the faculty rank of professor of psychology in North Central’s College of Arts and Sciences. Since 2019, Thomas has served as the executive vice president and provost at St. Catherine University in St. Paul, Minnesota, one of the largest private women’s universities in the country. Her research interests include racial identity and using culturally affirming counseling approaches with African American families.
Five psychologists have won NIH HEAL Initiative Director’s Awards, which recognize scholars working on science-based solutions to end the opioid crisis. Lisa Saldana, PhD, of the Oregon Social Learning Center won the Excellence in Research Award; Erin E. Bonar, PhD, of the University of Michigan and Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, of the University of New Mexico won Mentorship Awards; Kamilla Venner, PhD, of the University of New Mexico won the Community Partnership Award; and Hailey Bulls, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh won the Trailblazer Honorary Mention Award.
Arielle Baskin-Sommers, PhD, has been named head of Silliman College at Yale University. Baskin-Sommers begins her 5-year term in July 2023 after serving as the interim head since July 2022. Baskin-Sommers is a clinical psychologist whose scholarly work focuses on identifying and specifying the cognitive, emotional, and environmental mechanisms that contribute to risky, impulsive, and destructive behavior.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has named nine new members to its psychological sciences section in honor of their exceptional scholarship, innovation, and leadership. They are: Laura L. Carstensen, PhD, Stanford University, Leda Cosmides, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara, Kenneth Dodge, PhD, Duke University, Stephanie Fryberg, PhD, University of Michigan, Batja Gomes de Mesquita (IHM), PhD, University of Leuven, Shigehiro Oishi, PhD, University of Chicago, James W. Pennebaker, PhD, University of Texas at Austin, Phillip R. Shaver, PhD, University of California, Davis, and Virginia Valian, PhD, The City University of New York.