Article archive / October 2021
Originally published: . Volume 12, No. 10. Source pages: 1, 8, 9.
ULL College of Liberal Arts Centennial Psychology Department at U. of Louisiana Lafayette Celebrates 100 Year Anniversary
The psychology department at the University of Louisiana–Lafayette (ULL) is marking its 100th anniversary. The birthday celebration is part of the centennial of the College of Liberal Arts, UL- Lafayette’s oldest academic college.
"Once the home of all academic subjects across the campus," officials note, "the College was founded in 1921. UL Lafayette has greatly expanded the scope and depth of academic opportunity over the last 100 years, and the College remains at the University’s core, offering a broad array of comprehensive programs in the humanities and social sciences."
Activities to celebrate the milestone are happening now and will continue throughout the 2021– 2022 academic year.
Head of the Psychology Department at UL Lafayette, Dr. Amy Brown, said, "The Psychology Department’s major events this academic year in honor of the COLA Centennial are our research showcase next week and “Psychology Week” next spring. Psi Chi has organized a “Psychology Day” every spring for years, but we are expanding it this year to feature a larger number of speakers, events, and themes," she said.
Dr. Brown noted the popularity of the psychology department. "We are the largest major in the College of Liberal Arts, with over 700 majors. In addition to the traditional psychology major, students can elect a psyc pre-med concentration. This is intended for students who want to attend medical school to become physicians, and who want to have a strong foundation in psychological science. Medical schools seem to be increasingly valuing the behavioral sciences in general and psychology in particular (given that doctors ultimately have to deal with human patients and are better at their jobs if they understand some psychology!). The concentration is new, and we graduated our first two psyc pre-med majors in May," she said.
"In addition to the undergraduate major," Dr. Brown said, "we offer a master of science degree in general psychology. The master’s program is aimed to better prepare students for doctoral study in (any area of) psychology."
Dr. Emily Sandoz, the Emma Louise LeBlanc Burguieres/BORSF Endowed Professor of Social Sciences, and Graduate Coordinator of the Psychology MS Program, agrees.
"So many young people in our community find themselves interested in understanding, predicting, and influencing behavior, regardless of their primary academic focus or ultimate career path," she said. "Our Psychology program teaches students to approach this interest from a scientific perspective, applying critical thinking, knowledge of existing research, and novel data collection to inform their decisions. This orientation is so universally useful that it prepares students to be effective in any number of roles on any number of paths," said Dr. Sandoz.
Dr. Brown also pointed out another fun bit in department history. "The Psychology Department has had a female department head for the past 51 years," she said.
These female department heads are: Dr. B. Geraldine Lambert (1970-1981); Dr. Aline Garrett (1981-2003); Dr. Theresa Wozencraft (2003-2007); Dr. Cheryl Lynch (2007-2019); and Dr. Amy Brown (2019-present).
Dr. Sandoz has experienced some enjoyable memories over the years with ULL.
Some of her most enjoyable moments include, "… from the student role to the professor role are definitely the research collaborations," she said. "In classes, students are taught to understand existing knowledge, but with research, students are empowered to create new knowledge for the world. Watching new researchers orient to this possibility, and bring their unique perspectives to bear on research questions, experimental design, and data analysis is phenomenally inspiring.
She has also enjoyed her role as graduate coordinator. "I am incredibly proud of our graduate program, which fills an important need. We prepare students with the research training, discernment, and experience to achieve in ways that are personally and professionally meaningful at the doctoral level and beyond."
Dr. Valanne MacGyvers, Asst. Professor and director of the Achievement and Social Cognition (TASC) Lab, believes in the importance of a strong research and education program for the psychology department at the university.
Her TASC Lab focuses on the psychological factors associated with the achievement of excellence. In particular, she is most interested in academic excellence, in how self- and other-perceptions influence the achievement of excellence.
"In education," Dr. MacGyvers explained, "there is a construct that helps educators plan lessons that enhance student learning, and the more interactive the learning is, the better the students learn. At the lowest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, we are looking for knowledge, understanding and application. That is what we do in the classroom for the most part," she said.
"Adding in lab or research experience provides our students with a chance to reach the more advanced and interactive levels of learning, what Bloom referred to as analysis, synthesis and evaluation," said Dr. MacGyvers. "For example, yesterday, as my lab members were presenting their summaries of research articles, and I asked them for specific bits of information, they began to understand the research we were reviewing better and were able to begin to see how that research would help us as we designed the research project we were working on. It is in the doing of psychology that psychology comes to life for our students.
An interesting fact in overlap between Lafayette's psychology department and organized psychology in Louisiana is the emergence at Lafayette of the Louisiana Psychological Association in 1948.
The effort to create a state psychological association had started 16 years earlier when Drs. E. Terry Prothro from Lafayette, Dorothy Seago from Tulane, Kenneth Hait also from Lafayette, Paul C. Young, Louisiana State University, joined later by Drs. Bernard Bass, Ron Pryer, and Ed Timmons, and others, all who would assume the presidency for the Louisiana Psychological Association.
Dr. Brown said that UUL was known as Southwest Louisiana Institute (SLI) in 1948.
The Times asked Dr. MacGyvers what are her best experiences and memories are so far at ULL?
"I am not sure that this is a fair question to ask me, I have been here for going on 28 years!" she said.
"I love those moments when research turns out findings that make me understand people better. Like the moment I found out that people who do not support women breastfeeding their babies in public places are low in empathy. Essentially, our data revealed that those who criticize breastfeeding mothers are jerks! What a beautiful moment! We could empower moms to go ahead, because it is much easier to discount the jerks in the world.
"The other sort of great moments are when my students blossom into confident researchers and instructors. When they find their path and move boldly into their future. I love that. I know I am watching them walk away, but I also know that they are empowered to be fully themselves and that I had a role in that development," Dr. MacGyvers said.
"I guess that is really the crux of my best experiences, empowering others to be their best self."
Currently she is the President of the PBK Association of Southwest Louisiana and "proud mama to four furbabies." Dr. MacGyvers, along with a team of graduate students and undergraduate students, is engaged in a number of research projects, some large and some smaller, which will include mindset as a variable of interest.
Dr. Amy Brown is an Associate Professor and her research focuses on social psychological aspects of sexual victimization including victim blame, stigma, and prosocial bystander intervention. She is also interested in the role of alcohol in these processes.
Dr. Sandoz directs the Louisiana Contextual Science Research Group, "using specific theoretical perspectives grounded in behaviorism with an emphasis on Relational Frame Theory and the psychological flexibility model in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy."
She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science and also for Frontiers in Psychology.
Dr. Brooke Breaux (R) and her students attending a previous southeastern psychological conference. Dr. Breaux is part of the faculty at University of Louisiana Lafayette, celebrating 100 years of Psychology.
Dr. Theresa Wozencraft here presents to a group of psychologists at a past conference. Dr. Wozencraft chaired the psychology department at Lafayette from 2003 to 2007.
Dr. Emily Sandoz presenting at a previous conference.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.