The Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Martin McDermott as Interim Rudd Family Foundation Chair in Psychology, effective September 1, 2023. During her term as Interim Rudd Chair, Dr. McDermott will provide leadership for Rudd programming, including organizing the Rudd Visiting Professorship program and facilitating interdisciplinary working groups to tackle pressing adoption related issues, and collaborate with scholars and practioners to inform policy efforts to support adopted children and their families. She will also lead the search process for the new Rudd Chair, who will succeed Dr. Harold Grotevant, Inaugural Rudd Chair, now Emeritus. Dr. Grotevant stated, “I am thrilled that Dr. McDermott will be leading the Rudd Program and the search for the next Rudd Chair. As a developmental psychologist with a broad understanding of the issues involved with adoption in all its forms, she is positioned to continue the progress we have made in the past 15 years and provide a smooth transition for the next Chair.”

Details about the appointment can be found in the link below: https://www.umass.edu/ruddchair/appointment-dr-jennifer-mcdermott-interim-rudd-family-foundation-chair-psychology