Kathryn Morris, chair of the Psychology Department since 2007, will become Butler University’s interim provost and vice president for academic affairs beginning Jan. 1, 2012, President Jim Danko announced today.
In her new role, Morris will collaborate with the deans, faculty and Butler leadership team to advance the strategic vision and the academic agenda for Butler, ensuring that the University continues to strive for increasingly higher levels of excellence, effectiveness and recognition.
“I am confident that Kate will do an outstanding job in guiding our academic programs,” Danko said.
Morris earned her Bachelor of Arts from Gettysburg College and her Master of Arts and doctorate from the University of Texas at Austin. Her areas of expertise include social psychology, psychology of gender, methodology and statistics.
Morris joined the Butler faculty in 1996. She has received numerous honors and awards since, including the Outstanding Faculty Award in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In addition, she is a charter member and the first president of Butler’s chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. In 2004, she was selected by the graduating students to serve as the faculty commencement speaker.
“I look forward to working with President Danko, the deans, the associate provosts, the faculty and the staff in the Academic Affairs division over the coming months,” Morris said. “It is my goal to ensure that the colleges have the resources they need to deliver high-quality academic programs, and that they receive the recognition they deserve for their successes.”
In 2010, Morris was awarded a $108,000 National Science Foundation grant to study factors that affect whether people confront prejudice when they witness it. She has taught Introductory Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychology of Gender, Experimental Psychology, Research Methods & Statistics, Advanced Seminar in Social Psychology and Honors Colloquium.
Within her professional organizations (the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society for the Teaching of Psychology), Morris has done considerable work to develop and improve mentoring programs, empower teachers, and develop collaborations among teachers.
She replaces Jamie Comstock, who stepped down this month after 3½ years. Comstock will teach interpersonal communication at Butler this spring.
Media Contact:
Marc Allan
mallan@butler.edu
(317) 940-9822
