Article archive / October 1, 2012
Originally published: . Volume 4, No. 2. Source pages: 1, 4.
Dr. Cecil Hutto has been appointed Chair for the newly created Department of Behavioral Sciences at the University of Louisiana – Monroe (ULM).
Dr. Hutto takes over from Dr. David Williamson, previous Chair of ULM Psychology for 15 years, who retired this May.
The new department has been expanded to include psychology, marriage and family, and counseling, Hutto explained to the Times.
The enlarged and re- organized department will help consolidate and streamline the services that fall under ULM’s College of Education and Human Development, he said.
There will not be a specific department called psychology anymore, he explained. Now, the psychology programs and courses will come under the new, expanded department with the new title of Behavioral Sciences. The national economic slow- down and need for streamlining was the main driving force behind the reorganization, he indicated.
“The faculty is great,” he told the Times. But broader scope and the expanded departmental themes come with greater diversity of topics and backgrounds for the members of the new organization. This is not without some changes and challenges, he explained.
“My immediate goal is to join the departments together,” Hutto told the Times, “and to build collaboration and the associations” between the various faculty members.
“That’s what I stepped into,” he said. It has proven both challenging and satisfying for him as he gets to know his colleagues better and the demands of a much larger department.
Dr. Cecil Hutto received his PhD in experimental psychology from the U. of Mississippi in 1993 and is Assistant Professor for both undergraduate and graduate programs. He has served in the Faculty Senate at the university for almost 10 years, on the University Publication Board, the University Animal Use and Care Committee, and the University Strategic Planning Committee, among his many duties at ULM.
Dr. David Williamson was the head of the Psychology Department from 1997 to this year.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.