From the Desk of Malissa Clark |
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Dear Alumni and Friends,
I write to you as the new head of the Department of Psychology, excited to share what our department has accomplished this past year. We welcomed six new full-time faculty members, expanding our research and teaching strengths in areas such as neuroscience and health. Our new neuroscience major, developed with the Department of Cellular Biology, officially launched in spring 2026, and we expanded our Ph.D. offerings from three areas to four. |
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| Malissa Clark, Department Head |
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Beyond academics, we prioritized building community: we restarted our departmental picnic, held a faculty retreat, and launched our inaugural Building Connections event, pairing graduate students with alumni mentors. This year’s event will focus on undergraduates.
Donor generosity continued to strengthen our department, including a new endowed professorship in social developmental psychology and gifts supporting student travel and experiential learning.
Read the full letter for details on our faculty, programs, and community. I want to wish everyone the best for the year ahead, and if you're ever in Athens, please get in touch! —Malissa Clark, Department Head |
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This past spring, the Department of Psychology hosted its inaugural Building Connections in Psychology event, bringing alumni and friends back to campus for an afternoon of networking, research, and conversation with graduate students. Students shared their work during a research poster session before connecting with alumni through speed mentoring, |
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with conversations spanning career paths, graduate school experiences, professional growth, and life after UGA. |
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Students connecting with alumni |
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The event created an opportunity for students to learn directly from psychology alumni working across a variety of industries and roles while strengthening connections across the department’s growing alumni community. Read the whole article here. |
Building Connections returns in spring 2027, this time focused on undergraduate |
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psychology students. The event will give undergraduate students an opportunity to meet alumni, explore the many paths available with a psychology degree, and hear firsthand about careers and experiences beyond UGA. |
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Become a Building Connections Mentor! |
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We are looking for alumni and friends of the department to serve as mentors at the upcoming Building Connections event. If you are interested in participating, complete this form to sign up. |
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Cognitive Neuroscience doctoral student Yaw Buabeng spent his summer interning with Alcon, a global leader in eye care. Building on his research experience at UGA, Buabeng contributed to research projects and collaborated across teams while gaining firsthand experience applying vision science within the medical device industry. Read more here.
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Clinical Psychology doctoral student Lia Follet received a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship from the U.S. Department of Defense. One of only five scholars nationwide selected in the Cognitive, Neural, and Behavioral Sciences discipline for the FY2025 cohort, Follet will receive three years of support for her doctoral training and research. Read her story.
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Clinical psychology assistant professor Thania Galvan received a five-year, $425,000 William T. Grant Scholars Award to study parenting stress among Latino families with teenagers. Her research will examine key sources of stress affecting parents and adolescents and work toward strategies to better support families during the teenage years. Read more here.
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Psychology professor Gregory Strauss is studying signs of schizophrenia that can emerge years before hallucinations or delusions. Using tools including smartphones, wearable devices and machine learning, his research examines changes in motivation, social interaction and enjoyment that could help identify individuals at risk earlier. Read more here.
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Brian Hoffman and Aaron Murray |
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I-O Psychology professor Brian Hoffman is working with former UGA quarterback Aaron Murray to translate leadership research into practical development through RedZone Advantage. The initiative combines psychological research, leadership assessments, and individualized development to help athletes and professionals strengthen their leadership skills. Read more here.
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Commencement and Graduates |
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UGA alumna and Olympic silver medalist, Maritza McClendon |
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The UGA Department of Psychology celebrated its newest undergraduate graduates at the 2026 Psychology Commencement Ceremony, bringing together students, faculty, family, and friends to recognize the Class of 2026. UGA alumna and Olympic silver medalist Maritza McClendon returned to Athens as the ceremony’s |
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keynote speaker, sharing reflections from her journey beyond UGA as graduates prepared to begin their own next chapters. Read more here. |
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The I-O Professional Master’s (IOMP) program marked another milestone this year with the graduation of its 12th cohort. Designed for working professionals, the two-year program combines graduate study in industrial-organizational psychology with opportunities to apply research and evidence-based practices to challenges in the workplace. The newest graduates now join a growing |
| IOMP program 12th cohort graduates |
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network of IOMP alumni putting that training into practice across organizations and industries. Read more here. |
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Andrea George, Summer 2026 Molly Hale, Summer 2026 Brinkley Sharpe, Summer 2026
Daisi Brand, Spring 2026 Julie Brisson, Spring 2026 Kayla Brown, Spring 2026 Kristen Eggler, Spring 2026 Xiaobin Lou, Spring 2026 Heidi Sarles Whittlesey, Spring 2026 Liz Wiggins, Spring 2026
Josie Baker, Fall 2025 David Facteau, Fall 2025 Ryan Grant, Fall 2025 |
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| Daisy Gallegos, Summer 2026 Laurel Guffey, Summer 2026 Colleen Markey, Summer 2026 Marta Mohedano Jurado, Summer 2026
Amands Perozo Garcia, Summer 2026 Catie Sappenfield, Summer 2026 Christian Jerry, Spring 2026 Brandon Kang, Spring 2026 Fanciso Pelaez Rovalo, Spring 2026 Jenna Cutri, Fall 2025 John Greco, Fall 2025
Skylar Oney, Fall 2025 Grace Steffen, Fall 2025 |
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If you’d like to support psychology student scholarships for research, study abroad, experiential learning and more, please consider donating to our department. Your gift makes a difference! |
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