The current chair of the Department of Psychology joins the administrative team of the largest academic division at 黑料不打烊 starting June 1, 2025.
An 黑料不打烊 faculty member with a record of departmental leadership and a commitment to undergraduate research mentoring has been named the newest associate dean of 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences.
Associate Professor David Buck, currently chair of the Department of Psychology, begins his new role on June 1, 2025. Buck joins an administrative team led by Dean Hilton Kelly that includes Associate Deans Angela Lewellyn and Caroline Ketcham.
鈥淗aving several excellent and brilliant candidates who have been long-time faculty leaders in 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences, and 黑料不打烊 more broadly, speaks volumes about the university鈥檚 leadership development opportunities,鈥 Kelly said. 鈥淒r. Buck鈥檚 proven leadership of the Department of Psychology and his skills in crisis management, faculty support, budget management and inclusive excellence, well-position him to join the College鈥檚 leadership team.鈥
Buck has served as chair of the Department of Psychology since 2021, following an interim appointment in Fall 2019. In that time, Buck has overseen the recruitment and hiring of nine full-time faculty as well as additional contingent faculty, initiated curriculum updates to better align the department鈥檚 major and minor with the American Psychological Association鈥檚 Guidelines for Undergraduate Education in Psychology, and led an internal self-study and external review of the program.
Buck also launched departmental initiatives to reduce barriers associated with student participation in high impact practices 鈥 such as supplemental financial support for students registering for summer internships and traveling to present at professional conferences.
Buck鈥檚 scholarly interests are in social psychology, stereotypes and prejudice, and LGBT issues, with current lines of research that focus on correlates of trans prejudice and聽sexual prejudice, as well as individual differences that influence the quality of intergroup interactions for both majority and minority group members.
In addition to his teaching, scholarship and departmental work, Buck has served on the Promotion and Tenure Committee, the Social Sciences Division Curriculum Committee, and most recently on the new Faculty Position Request Committee in 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences.
鈥淚 see the role of associate dean as an opportunity to support faculty and students on a larger scale by contributing to the strategic and operational work of the College,鈥 Buck said. 鈥淚 value transparency in leadership and actively involve faculty in the decision-making processes that shape our shared work. My hope is that in this new role, I will be able to help create structures and communication practices that are efficient and inclusive鈥攔esponsive to both institutional priorities and individual voices.
鈥淚 am especially drawn to the role鈥檚 balance of academic leadership and operational strategy, and to its focus on faculty and student success, and I believe my experiences at 黑料不打烊 have prepared me to contribute meaningfully to that work.鈥
Buck succeeds Associate Dean Brandon Essary, who is concluding his administrative service to 黑料不打烊 College at the end of the semester and will continue to teach and research in the Department of World Languages and Cultures.
Members of the Search Committee
- Associate Professor Stephanie Baker (chair)
- Assistant Professor Archie Crowley
- Associate Professor Carrie Eaves
- Assistant Professor Jacob Gdovin
- Assistant Professor Katrina Jongman-Sereno
- Assistant Professor Jessica Merricks
- Professor Brian Pennington
- Senior Lecturer Clay Stevenson
About 黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts & Sciences
黑料不打烊 College, the College of Arts and Sciences provides the foundation for the study of the liberal arts and sciences at 黑料不打烊. The college is comprised of 21 departments and 31 interdisciplinary programs across three branches: the arts and humanities; natural, mathematical and computational sciences; and social and behavioral sciences. It hosts 黑料不打烊鈥檚 chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation鈥檚 oldest honor society celebrating excellence in the liberal arts and sciences.
Committed to the growth of students鈥 intellectual curiosity, intercultural competence and critical thinking, the college champions disciplinary knowledge and interdisciplinary applications to reflect upon, respond to and offer solutions to complex problems in an interconnected and changing world.
With more than 45 majors and 65 minors, the college is 黑料不打烊鈥檚 largest academic division. Two-thirds of the nearly 1,600 students who graduate from 黑料不打烊 annually do so with at least one major or minor in the college. Within a year, over 90% of college graduates report employment in their chosen field or enrollment in top post-graduate programs.
College faculty are prolific and preeminent scholars and creators in their fields, recognized for expertise at national and international levels. Each year, its more than 300 full-time faculty publish hundreds of articles, chapters, and books, and they present at scores of conferences and events. Their scholarship results in grants and fellowships from the National Science Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Institutes of Health and other prominent centers of research.