By Colleen McGinness
Collegian Reporter

The psychology department is on the hunt for a new faculty member.

The department is evaluating potential candidates for a full-time tenure position in cognitive and developmental psychology, with a specialization in child development.

Although the department has already reviewed one promising candidate, they are still in the evaluation process.

The committee consists of Jim Stephens, professor of philosophy, David Jones, associate professor of classics, and Robert Miller, associate professor of biology.

Dean of Faculty David Whalen, Dean of Social Sciences Thomas Conner and Donald Ernst, associate professor of psychology, have also been involved in the search.  Fritz Tsao, director of the psychology department, is coordinating the evaluation procedure.

During the evaluation the applicant will be required to lecture in a psychology class, give a public lecture about matters concerning his own research and will meet individually with each evaluator.

The contender will be given a tour of the campus, as well as the community in order to experience the area in which they might take residence.

“We hope to get the best trained person with true expertise who will really contribute to the student’s development,” Tsao said. “We are looking for a real commitment to teaching, but also someone who will be a good citizen of the community.”

The applicant must complete a doctorate degree by the time their Hillsdale term begins. They must obtain a doctorate in psychology, preferably with a concentration in child cognitive development.

“We’re hoping the candidate will have a specialty in child development,” Tsao said. “It is one of the hot areas of research, so there will be a lot of interest in that area in the future.”

Hillsdale had a cognitive developmentalist years ago, but since then the College has had part time faculty teaching the courses.

There are two levels in cognitive and developmental psychology.

The levels consist of Developmental I, which is child psychology, and Developmental II, which is adolescent through adult.

The department realized they would need to find a permanent faculty member to teach the field when the state mandated Developmental I as a requirement for education majors.

“We’ve had a promising applicant pool,” Tsao said. “We’re looking for excellence in teaching.”

The committee plans on evaluating two more applicants in January.

“We in the department are genuinely excited about this because it will fulfill a great need in our program,” Tsao said. “It will not only make a great contribution to the psychology program, but to the Hillsdale faculty as well.”

Psychology professor
Fritz Tsao is coordinating
the evaluation procedure
of applicants.