Organization of the Psychology Department

The chair has responsibility for just about everything but has delegated a number of these responsibilities to the positions described below. The chair works primarily on matters relating to the faculty, the budget, scheduling of courses, etc. and represents the department when dealing with other units. Students will need to see the chair if they present convention papers (which is encouraged) in order to get partial reimbursement for their travel costs or to discuss available funding for thesis and dissertation research.

This person oversees policies and procedures relating to all the graduate programs. If students have questions about program requirements, registration, financial aid, grievances, workload assignments, deadlines, and various other practical matters, they should check with the Assistant Chair for Graduate Studies. However, students are encouraged to consult this manual first.

This person oversees policies and procedures relating to the undergraduate program.

The Experimental Section is home to the doctoral program in experimental psychology. The Director of Experimental Training is responsible for administering policies and procedures for the experimental psychology program.

The Director of Clinical Training oversees policies and procedures for the Clinical Section. They play an important role in guiding the clinical program and in exploring procedures and options for providing better clinical training. They work in close cooperation with the Department Chairperson in attaining these goals. Generally, the Director of Clinical Training is responsible for and should play an active role in the following areas:

1. writing the annual APA report;
2. coordinating the periodic self-study report for reaccreditation;
3. providing effective day-to-day management of Clinical Section activities such as policy decisions and curriculum planning; conducting student evaluations; scheduling and conducting Clinical Section meetings and writing up and distributing summaries of these meetings;
4. verifying students’ internship eligibility and readiness and corresponding with internship agencies about internship placement and experience;
5. monitoring clinical graduate students’ traineeship placements (with the Clinic Director);
6. coordinating with faculty to determine course and thesis equivalences for incoming post-master’s students;
7. listening to inter-faculty and student-faculty problems and complaints relevant to the clinical program and trying to find solutions;
8. conducting committee elections or appointing minor or ad hoc committees; following up on committees, trying to stimulate committee action;
9. managing accreditation and licensure for graduates (completing documentation for APPIC and for state licensure boards, as needed);
10. working with the Assistant Chair of Graduate Studies on program updates;
11. delegating administrative responsibilities, where applicable, during periods when the director is not available;
12. carrying out faculty duties consistent with the training program’s goals;
13. being responsible for annual review and update of the Clinical Graduate Student Manual; responding to research questionnaires and communiques regarding various training issues received from APA, APPIC, etc., as well as numerous committee groups and individual researchers nationwide;
14. attending the annual meeting of the Council of University Directors of Clinical Psychology;
15. serving as a standing member of the departmental Faculty Load Committee (with the Director of Experimental Training and the Department Chair);
16. serving as the oversight person for the department’s Training Clinic.
17. conferring with the Department Chair about matters relevant to the clinical program such as scheduling flow and sequencing problems;
18. collaborating with the Assistant Chair of Graduate Studies in setting up recruiting programs for graduate students, including minority and other special interest groups;
19. making contacts with university and non-university agencies (local, state, regional, federal) for research and training experiences and for funding arrangements that may support graduate training; helping foster interagency contacts for traineeship experiences;
20. working with the Department Chair and the Director of Experimental Training for joint research and training ventures;
21. seeking sectional training grants such as NIMH grants, as the section decides, and carrying out the day-to-day activities involved in administering such grants as needed;

The Director of Clinical Training’s responsibilities extend for a 12-month rather than a 9-month period. In order to aid the Director of Clinical Training in carrying out these activities, they are given release time of two courses per year and an annual summer stipend. The Director of Clinical Training will serve for a 5-year period. The position may be held for a maximum of two terms, although members of the Clinical Section can grant exceptions.