Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University
About
What are you doing today in your career?
I’m partially retired from my position as a Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. In partial retirement, I teach one course annually at Purdue. The rest of my professional life is devoted to serving as editor of Child Development Perspectives (a journal of brief reviews published by the Society for Research in Child Development), revising my textbook on lifespan development (with my co-author, John C. Cavanaugh), and giving workshops worldwide on scientific writing for psychology.
What impact has your Psychology degree at UM had on your career?
My experiences at UM were life-changing, in three ways. First, they introduced me to the field of cognitive development, which has been the focus of my research for over 40 years. Second, they encouraged me to collaborate with scientists with expertise in other domains, which allowed me to experience the joys (and frustrations) of interdisciplinary work. Third, they taught me the value of being open to professional opportunities that arise unexpectedly. (I will describe these in detail in my Bicentennial lecture.)
What do you remember most about your time at UM?
My graduate years were times of many “professional firsts”—I remember taking great pride in having my first article published and teaching my first class independently. But I also remember faculty members being incredibly supportive from the day I and other first-year students arrived on campus. They treated us as colleagues-to-be, were incredibly generous with their time, and provided amazing mentoring.
What advice would you give to aspiring Psychology students?
I have two pieces of advice for those who want a career in psychology (especially a research career). First, get to know at least one professor really well so that this professor can serve as a mentor and can write effective letters of recommendation for you. Second, don’t “load up” on psych courses as an undergraduate—you’ll have plenty of opportunities for psych courses in graduate school. Instead, take a range of courses from throughout the LSA curriculum. Particularly valuable are courses in writing, math and statistics, and the life sciences.
