Current Position:
Director of Evolutionary Studies
Professor and Chair of Psychology
(Social Psychologist) 

Click HERE for Social Psychology Network Description of Me.

State University of New York at New Paltz

Academic Preparation

M.A. Psychology; University of New Hampshire; 1994.

B.A. Psychology; University of Connecticut; 1992; cum laude, honors.

Professional Experience

        Evolutionary Studies Seminar
        Social Psychology (Graduate)
        Social Psychology (Undergraduate)
        Evolutionary Psychology
        Psychology of Personality
        Comparative Animal Psychology
        General Psychology
        Statistics for Psychology
        Experimental Psychology
        Psychological Underpinnings of Terrorism

Husson College (Bangor, ME, Fall 1999 - Spring 2000)

        Theories of Personality (Psyc 333)
        Social Psychology (Psyc 231)
        General Psychology (Psyc 111)
        Human Growth and Development (Psyc 241)
        Interpersonal Relations (Psyc 311)

Western Oregon University (Monmouth, OR, Fall 1997 - Summer 1999)

Advanced Social Psychology (Psyc 437)
Theories of Personality (Psyc 435)
Social Psychology (Psyc 334D)
General Psychology (Psyc 201 & Psyc 202)
Evolution and Social Behavior (Psyc 407)
Research Methods in Psychology (Psyc 217)

Social Psychology; Spring 1997

Statistics for Psychology; Spring 1996
Personality; Fall 1995
Introduction to Psychology; Fall 1994, Spring 1995

Honors and Awards

• (2009) State University of New York Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching

• (2009) Residence Hall Honorary Award: Faculty Member of the Month (March)

• (2008-2010) National Science Foundation CCLI Grant to support SUNY New Paltz’s Evolutionary Studies Program ($211,387.00; Principal Investigator, along with David Sloan Wilson of Binghamton and Jen Waldo of New Paltz's Biology Department)

 • (2001) AMP/C-STEP grant to support research on the impact of perceptions of parental investment on mating-relevant outcomes.

 • (2000) Husson College Technology Action Committee Grant to support the incorporation of web-based technology into General Psychology courses.

 • (1999) Husson College Faculty Development Grant to support research on social perceptual biases regarding judgments of hypothetical behavior in social influence research.

 • (1999) Husson College Faculty Development Grant to support research on evolutionary underpinnings of jealousy.

 • (1999) Western Oregon University Faculty Development Grant to support research on biases in romantic partner perception

 • (1999) Faculty Sponsor: Psi Chi Undergraduate Research Grant to support research on behavioral correlates of Reactive Attachment Disorder

 • (1999) Faculty Sponsor: Western Oregon University Foundation Grant to support student involvement in presentation of research at the 1999 American Psychological Society Conference

 • (1998) Western Oregon University Faculty Development Grant to support research on biases in romantic partner perception

 • (1998) Sigma Xi Graduate Student Excellence Award honoring dissertation research

 • (1996-1997) University of New Hampshire Dissertation Fellowship to support research on factors that affect mate selection

 • (1996) University of New Hampshire Summer Teaching Assistant Fellowship to support research on factors that affect mate selection

 • (1996) Graduate Research Enhancement Award from University of New Hampshire Graduate School to support dissertation research

 • (1996) Funding awarded by the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research to support dissertation research

 • (1995) University of New Hampshire Summer Teaching Assistant Fellowship to support research on factors that affect mate selection

 • (1995) Funding awarded by the Institute for Policy and Social Science Research to support dissertation research

 • (1992) University of Connecticut cum laude and honors graduate

My Interests:

Largely, my interests define me. I buy into all that "life is short, play hard" stuff.
I think reincarnation is a great idea -- but I'm not banking on it ...

• EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY  as I see it, the developments in evolutionary psychology and related fields are fully redefining how we think about human behavior.  The implications for all that we conceive as human are staggering and extend quite beyond the classroom.  Click HERE for a link to the Human Behavior and Evolution Society which was designed to facilitate work in this area.  Click HERE for information on the Evolutionary Studies (EvoS) Program that I am working to implement on this campus.

Insights that I have gleaned (yeah, that's right, you glean insights ...) have altered my life in so many ways.  As I see it, the ideas included in Evolutionary Psychology have dramatic implications for eating, exercise, relationships, and all that we think of under the umbrella of the 'human condition.'  I strongly recommend to ANYONE who is at all interested in understanding what it means to be human to learn about the ideas in this field.  For starters, I urge you to consider the discordance between foods that existed when our species evolved (primarily under pre-industrial and pre-agricultural conditions) and foods that are the core of the modern American diet.  Click here for information on evolutionarily informed eating (i.e., The Caveman Diet). Take my Evolutionary Psychology course or get involved with the EvoS program to learn more. Click HERE for Rose Chang's EvoS Blog regarding modern human diets - it's great.

Click HERE for a description of what Evolutionary Psychology IS and what it is NOT

• Running -- 5 days a week ... rain, snow, or shine.  Check out this photo of JP, Droo, Petra, and me after the Trail's End marathon; back in my Oregon days!

Here are some pictures from the Cape Cod TImes marathon (February 27, 2000):
   Approaching the finish line!
   My time.
   Murphy and me after the race.

<- Doubt I come close to that time ever again!

Here's a link to the race results from the 2005 Dutchess County Classic Marathon -- check out who took first place in my category!  Good thing for only four runners in the category!

• Weightlifting -- it's fun, really!

• Skiing -- downhill and cross country ... I sure do miss skiing in Oregon ...

• Hiking -- I love the back country -- woods, mountains, rivers, lakes ... My favorite hiking coast-to-coast is in Acadia.

-- locally, the Mohonk Preserve is tough to beat.

-- Click HERE for a story published in the Poughkeepsie Journal about a hike with my mom!

-- Click HERE for a story I published in the Husson College publication Crosscut -- it's about a great  snowshoe adventure in Maine.

• Fishing -- bass fishing in particular.

• Travel -- Before I'd ever been to Europe, I figured the United States had it made over anywhere. Then I went to Switzerland. I will see as much of this world as I can.

    Here are some shots of other trips.  Check out these shots of Maui:
    (The Maui Coast near Lahaina; the Maui sunset).

   Click HERE for a shot of an island in the Puget sound from our great sailing adventure with Vic!

    Quebec City's one of my all time favorite places -- here's a picture of Kathy and me at the Winter Carnival with a special friend!

• Cooking -- you should try my beer fondue!

... not to mention my Potato Pancakes!

UNLESS, of course, you buy into the dietary implications of the Caveman Diet suggested by Evolutionary Psychology (as I do).

• New England -- Skiing -- Blue Job Mountain, NH -- Dover, NH -- Mt. Washington

• Cutting down huge Christmas Trees!

• Flat Stanley
 
• Making Mad Libs for my kids -- click HERE for Megan's Mad Libs page with free printable Mad Libs!

Family, Friends, Pets, etc.

Click HERE for Megan's Homepage;
Click HERE for Andrew's Homepage

Thorpe with fish;  Thorpey looking serious (look for Thorpe, my zany college roommate, on exam questions in all my classes!)

Our Crazy pets -- Dixie and Peanut, Dixie 2000, Peanut, Peanut 2000, Murphy, Murphy 2000

Peanut is SO SORELY MISSED by many ... (click HERE for Peanut's online memorial)

We miss you too Dixie! Some predator was he.

We also have been known to have some rascally Sea Monkeys!