Message from the Chair

Dear PBS Community,

I am delighted to be writing to all of you in my new role as Chair of Psychological and Brain Sciences. For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Maureen Perry-Jenkins and I have been a professor in PBS since 1997. I am also a proud alumna of UMass and the Psychology Department since 1981! What a long way I, and the department, have come since then.

We currently serve approximately 2,100 undergraduates and 70 graduate students. We have 52 faculty and 15 staff and we are the size of a small college. We have an amazing faculty who study a broad range of critical issues such as: the development of psychopathology in children, decision-making processes, substance use, discrimination, parenting, and dementia, to name just a few. We are a department deeply committed to issues of diversity, equity and inclusion and strive to infuse these values into our research and teaching missions and in building an inclusive community in PBS. Our faculty, graduate students and post docs have garnered over 7 million dollars in grant funding for their research. We also have some of the best teachers in the university, developing innovative and exciting classroom techniques that engage and inspire our students. Our staff keep the whole system running with amazing efficiency.

For the alumni of PBS, I extend an invitation to come and visit any time. On October 29th we are opening our doors for an open house event during UMass homecoming. We hope you are able to join us to learn about the exciting work we are doing. Tobin hall looks remarkably the same, but we have some exciting renovations happening. The campus has undergone an amazing transformation over the past decade and you should come and take a walk down memory lane.

I feel incredibly honored to be leading this outstanding department and look forward to working with our current faculty, staff and students and reconnecting with our thousands of proud alumni. Please follow us on Facebook or Instagram to see all the exciting things we are up to!

Sincerely,

Maureen
 

Features

Research Highlights

Educators can help make STEM fields diverse – over 25 years, I’ve identified nudges that can encourage students to stay

Maureen Perry-Jenkins interviewed about new book 'Work Matters: How Parents’ Jobs Shape Children’s Well-Being'

Implicit bias and concern about appearing racist predict teachers’ reluctance to discuss race and racism in the classroom

Award Highlights

Tammy Rahhal awarded Chancellor’s Leadership Fellowship

Rebecca Ready among inaugural group of CNS Leadership Fellows

Kuan-Jung Huang receives 2022 Keith Rayner Memorial Graduate Student Research Award

Upcoming Events

In the Media

Can word games help your brain as you age? Rebecca Spencer weighs in

Robert Feldman discusses lying in job interviews

UMass researchers develop family-centered preventive intervention to reduce stress, anxiety, and depressive symptoms among immigrants in the U.S.