Message from the Head
I’m inspired by and proud of the accomplishments of the Department of Psychology over this past, tumultuous year. Our department remained resilient in the face of the upheaval created by moving our teaching and research online during the global pandemic. Our success has been driven by our outstanding community of researchers, students and staff, all of whom share a commitment to delivering exceptional research, teaching, and community collaborations—as this report highlights.
In the wake of troubling events both in Canada and internationally, our department has taken a strong stand against racism, and we have made a commitment to be more inclusive and equitable in all of our operations. This year, our Equity Committee established a Diversity Mentorship Program to prepare students from diverse, under-represented, and marginalized backgrounds for graduate admissions in psychology. The program welcomed over 100 psychology undergraduate students from around the world and paired them with 34 dedicated graduate student mentors. In addition, we created a Diversity and Inclusion Task Force that has worked diligently to develop a series of initiatives to increase diversity in faculty hiring and to foster a sense of inclusion for everyone in our department.
This year, two new tenure-track Assistant Professors, Dr. Lauren Emberson and Dr. Friedrich Götz, joined our department. Their innovative research programs will enrich our developmental and social/personality areas, respectively. In addition, renovations in the Douglas Kenny Building have added new offices, labs, and meeting rooms—as well as much-needed seismic upgrades.
Once again, I am grateful for the efforts of our faculty, students and staff, and I thank everyone in our community for their dedication and support.
Dr. D. Geoffrey Hall
Head, UBC Department of Psychology
