College of Science and Health Dean Announced

April 11, 2013

Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to announce the appointment of Dr. Gerald Koocher as the next dean of the College of Science and Health. He will begin his new role as dean on July 1. Gerry is a leader in the field of psychology and is recognized for his work as a scholar, a teacher and a practitioner. He is a widely published researcher and clinician and is also a senior lecturer at the Harvard Medical School. He is past president of the American Psychological Association and has served on the staff of the Children's Hospital in Boston.

Gerry has an extensive and distinguished career as a clinical psychologist and an academic, most recently at Simmons College in Boston, where he has served the past 12 years as a dean, associate provost and professor of psychology. He is recognized for his work as a scholar, a teacher and a practitioner. His many years of leadership in higher education have positioned him well for building the future of the College of Science and Health.

A native of Cambridge, Mass., Gerry received his bachelor's degree in psychology from Boston University and his master's degree in psychology and doctoral degree in clinical and developmental psychology from the University of Missouri-Columbia. His areas of research include adaptation to chronic medical illness; development of children's conceptions of death; ethical and public policy issues in delivery of mental health services; and the functioning of institutional review boards. He led early academic efforts to leverage online resources for the creation of new, advanced degrees in the health sciences fields.

Gerry has published scores of articles on a variety of topics and has led numerous professional organizations and committees. He currently serves on panels for the National Institute of Health and National Institute of Mental Health.

Please join me in welcoming Gerry Koocher to DePaul University. To learn more about him, please see his CV at http://csh.depaul.edu/Documents/Koocher-Gerald-CV.pdf.

I also want to take this opportunity to publicly thank Jerry Cleland, who has served as interim dean of the College of Science and Health for the past two years. He has worked tirelessly to lay a strong foundation on which the college can build. DePaul has been fortunate to have his leadership during this initial phase of the life of the College of Science and Health, and we can't thank him enough. Jerry will be returning to the Department of Psychology.

Sincerely,

Fr. Holtschneider
DePaul email