NY transplant
Joseph R. McGahan, professor of social psychology and co-director of The Social Science Research Lab, started working at ULM in January 1990. He earned a Ph.D. at the University of Oklahoma.
After being born in the Bronx, I spent my youth growing up in Long Island, 12 miles from Jones Beach and 30 miles from NYC. After graduating from the State University of New York, Oswego, I lived in Westchester County before relocating to Tulsa, Okla. Subsequently, I lived in Norman, Okla., while working on my Ph.D., and Magnolia, Ark., while serving as an assistant professor at Southern Arkansas University.
One thing that most people don't know about me is that I'm a sensitive person.
In my free time, I enjoy working on and around my home.
ULM first appealed to me because of its strong graduate program in psychology. Also, ULM was a stronger university than SAU. My wife was born and raised in that area. These last points mattered to Patti and I because we wanted our daughter to grow up around, at least one of our families.
There is no doubt that I have loved teaching a wide variety of classes over the course of my academic career. Research opportunities, especially those projects that resulted in co-authorship of journal articles with my students, is also a sweet aspect of my position as a professor. And, I certainly would be remiss not to mention my eight or nine years trying to develop the Chautauqua Nexus and, most recently, my work with John Sutherlin and others with the Social Science Research Lab. Add to that, the satisfaction that comes from working with President Cofer and his administrative team.
Some of my proudest accomplishments are the publications I co-authored with my undergraduate and graduate students, the Chautauqua Nexus, and the SSRL.
Ever since learning about what Bob Shirley, the facilitator for the ULM Steering Committee process called, "the Colorado State Model," I have allocated a percentage of my research efforts to helping our community. At this time, my students and I are preparing a community profile report for Susan G. Komen for The Cure. Other projects, especially those related to the SSRL, also address health-related issues, as well as juvenile justice reform. Needless to say, service-learning has become a major component of what I do with my students and other faculty.
One of my favorite ULM memories is being told by administrators that my attempt to be rational when completing administrative forms related to The Origins Series grant we obtained from The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities "was cute."
The area around the library reminds me of NYU, a place I often visit when I have time to go into Manhattan. I also love the bridges over the bayou because, having grown up on Long Island, there's lots and lots of water. I love being around water; it is very serene
If my students could leave my classroom knowing only one thing, it would be that learning is a process and that it could be a major mistake to let an obsession with grades interfere with the learning process.
I became interested in psychology because of the potential to understand human feelings, thoughts, and behaviors and the potential to improve life on our planet.