W&L Cognitive and Behavioral Science Department
YOUNG ALUMNI PANEL AND SPRING
ALUMNI PANEL
ELMES PATHFINDER PRIZE IN PSYCHOLOGY
LAB NEWS AND ALUMNI UPDATES
SUMMER
ALUMNI NEWSLETTER
Hello from Lexington!
I am exc I ted to br I ng to you the first of what we hope will be an annual newsletter from the Cognitive and Behavioral Science Department (CBSC) at W&L. Some of you may not know that in 2019 we changed the department name from Psychology to CBSC. The change was prompted by our desire for our name to reflect more closely what we study and teach. Each and every faculty member could recount a time when they told someone that they taught in the Psychology Department and the person responded along the lines of either, “Oh, Freud is so interesting” or “You must be analyzing me.” Don’t get me wrong — we are not Freudhaters, but we definitely don’t think about him often! Since the name change we have seen an increase in CBSC majors, which has led to an increase in CBSC faculty. Currently 10 tenured or tenure-track faculty and one long-term visiting faculty teach in the CBSC Department. Please see our website for more information about CBSC faculty and the major more generally.
A lot has changed both in the world and the CBSC Department in the last year. You will be happy to know that the recent federal funding cuts have not (yet) impacted any CBSC faculty grants or our faculty and students’ ability to do research. We continue to support all our students, especially those who reside in historically marginalized groups. We have been intentional about building a community where everyone feels welcome. The CBSC major continues to grow and attract diverse and interesting students. We draw the best and brightest students at W&L and continually look for new ways to engage them in the classroom, community and in our research labs.
This newsletter is our attempt to keep you up to date regarding the happenings in the CBSC Department. To that end, we highlight CBSC events, faculty, students and alumni that we hope will be of interest to you. At the end of the newsletter, we also include an Alumni Updates section. We encourage you to send us two to four sentences, along with a high-resolution photo, describing what you are up to so we can include it in next year’s newsletter. Please send all alumni updates to: cbsc@wlu edu. Also, let us know if there is any particular content you would like to read about.
Julie Woodzicka Department Head
Class of 2025
Congrats to the Class of 2025! Thirty-seven students earned a BA or BS degree in CBSC. In addition, two of the 10 valedictorians in the Class of 2025 completed CBSC majors. Congratulations to valedictorians Caroline Linen and Caroline Evans!
Recent funding cuts have impacted students looking for jobs and summer experiences. Despite these challenges, recent graduates will be entering programs to secure advanced degrees in a variety of fields including law, public policy, international relations, psychology and medicine. Graduates also will be headed to financial marketing or analyst positions, to teach English in another country and to the nonprofit advocacy sector.
ELMES PATHFINDER PRIZE IN PSYCHOLOGY
STORY BY EMILY INNES, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS, FIRST PUBLISHED IN THE COLUMNS, NOV. 19, 2024 DEPARTMENTAL
m ar I am d rammeh ’25 has been awarded the 2024 d av I d g . e lmes Pathf I nder Pr I ze I n Psychology at Washington and Lee University. Drammeh, from Lawrenceville, Georgia, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in cognitive and behavioral science (CBSC) and German.
The Elmes Pathfinder Prize recognizes a student who has shown extraordinary promise in cognitive and behavioral science or its application in professions through outstanding scholarship in basic or applied psychology.
“It means the world to me to be awarded this prize,” said Drammeh, who also received a Gilman Scholarship in May 2023 to complete an internship at a refugee organization in Germany. “The CBSC Department, and especially the research that I have completed during my time at W&L, have changed both my intellectual life and personal life. I have been so honored to have the opportunity to meet amazing professors who are dedicated to their craft and to fostering a love of psychological science in their students.”
“As everyone who knows her knows, Mariam is simply fabulous,” said Wythe Whiting, professor of cognitive and behavioral science. “She is one of those students who seems to be involved in every activity on campus, and she brings an unmatched joy and enthusiasm to each one of them. She is a dedicated and hard worker, and we are all excited to see where she will land after graduation.”
On campus, Drammeh was a head peer counselor, senior peer tutor, the vice chair of Traveller, the Young Ambassador to the German Academic Exchange Service and a translator for German works for the Florence As It Was project led by George Bent, the Sidney Gause Childress Professor in the Arts. In addition to her research training in her CBSC courses, Drammeh served as a research assistant for the Technology, Health and Cognition Lab led by Karla Murdock, the Jo M. and James M. Ballengee Professor of Cognitive Behavioral Science, and Whiting. She was also a research assistant in the Computational Cognition and Creativity Lab, led by Dan Johnson, professor of cognitive and behavioral science and head of the university’s Data Science Program.
During the summer of 2024, Mariam was an intern at the UNC Autism Research Center, supported by the Rudolph Family Psychology and Neuroscience Fund.
“Mariam is a shining example of a liberal arts student,” Murdock said. “Her interests span STEM, social science and humanities fields and she has invested in classroom, lab and real-world experiences that integrate and grow her talents. Mariam’s superpower is to move easily and skillfully across
situations with a vast range of demands. I can’t wait to see how she will continue to use this to be a force for good.”
Following graduation, Drammeh plans to pursue a master’s degree and a doctorate in social policy, focusing on refugee and migrant communities and the policies that directly impact them. This fall, Drammeh is going to be an English teaching assistant in Austria through the U.S. Teaching Assistantship program (administered by Fulbright Austria) and will start a master’s in public policy at Duke University in fall 2026.
“I came to W&L feeling a strong urge to foster communities that allow people to flourish and feel loved, and my time in the CBSC Department has helped me find career choices that will allow me to do that work,” Drammeh said.
The Elmes Pathfinder Prize was established in 2007. It derives from the Elmes Fund, a permanently endowed fund that honors David G. Elmes, emeritus professor of psychology. The endowment was created by the many alumni, colleagues and friends who benefited from Elmes’ commitment to learning during his 40year career as a scientist, teacher and mentor at W&L. ■
Welcome New Faculty!
Heather Macalister, Ph.D.
VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
heather was a tenured Professor at mary baldwIn University for over 20 years before joining the Washington and Lee faculty. Macalister’s research is interested in gender and children’s food choices.
At W&L, Macalister teaches courses on Social and Developmental Psychology, Psychology and Health, Psychology and Women and Food Psychology.
Nikki Lee, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENTAL
Nydia Ayala, Ph.D.
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
n yd I a started th I s fall as an a ss I stant Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and a core faculty member in the Law, Justice, and Society Program. Ayala received her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology with a concentration in psychology and law from Iowa State University. Research in Ayala’s Applied Memory and Decision Making Lab focuses on eyewitness identification procedures, recognition, memory and legal decision making.
Professor Ayala teaches Cognition, Psychology and Law, and Memory in Everyday Life.
lee came to w&l In January 2024 as a assIstant Professor of Cognitive and Behaviroal Science and a core faculty member of the Neuroscience Program after finishing a National Science. Lee’s Social Behavior Lab investigates the neural and hormonal mechanisms underlying social behavior in non-human animals, in the lab and in the field, and with a particular interest in the evolution of social behavior.
Lee teaches Brain and Behavior and Hormones and Behavior. This spring, she co-taught Wild Sex: Lessons from Animal Mating Behavior with Brandon Conley, visiting assistant professor of philosophy.
JULIE WOODZICKA APPOINTED
WILLIAM R. KENAN JR. PROFESSORSHIP
Julie Woodzicka, professor of cognitive and behavioral science at Washington and Lee University, has been appointed to the William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship. The William R. Kenan Jr. Professorship at W&L was created in 1971 with a gift from the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust to honor Kenan’s conviction in the importance of transformative teaching. Endowments funded by trust grants support up to 131 William R. Kenan Jr. professorships at 56 distinguished colleges and universities across the United States per year, an effort that remains the trust’s largest and most far-reaching to date.
To mark the endowed professorship, Woodzicka gave a public lecture on Oct. 8, 2024. The title of her talk was “I Know What I’d Do: Exploring Imagined Versus Actual Behavior in Stressful Situations.” In her talk, Woodzicka explored how we imagine our behavior to be in stressful situations as opposed to how we actually respond. She presented reasons for the misalignment, along with the consequences associated with wrongly anticipating your behavior when confronted with stressful situations. ■
DAN JOHNSON ASSESSES CREATIVE THINKING IN STEM
Dan Johnson, professor of cognitive and behavioral science at Washington and Lee University, is part of a collaborative team that received a $2.5 million, five-year grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the effect of creativity in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Johnson will serve as co-principal investigator and work alongside researchers from Georgetown University, the Pennsylvania State University and the University of San Francisco to provide large-scale evidence that creativity is critical to STEM success in college and beyond.
Johnson’s project has three primary objectives. In the first aim, the research team will investigate how core dimensions of creative cognition (visual, verbal, generative, evaluative) relate to future STEM success in a three-year longitudinal study. The second aim will test computational creativity scoring models and determine which best predicts human creativity ratings as well as which of those computational models best predicts future college and post-college STEM success, parsing the relative contributions of verbal and visual creativity. The third aim will test computational creativity scoring approaches to predict college STEM success, using a large-scale data set of college applicants as a testbed. ■
Full Story
Read the story by Brian Laubscher, University Communications.
Read full story here.
Full Story
Excerpt from story by Brian Laubscher, University Communications.
Read full story here.
Julie Woodzicka, William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Cognitive and Behavioral Science
Dan Johnson, professor of cognitive and behavioral science
Lab News
KARLA MURDOCK, WYTHE WHITING AND THE THAC LAB
Karla Murdock and Wythe Whiting collaborate in research and teaching pursuits in the CBSC Department. Whiting earned a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology at Georgia Institute of Technology and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience at Duke University after leaving the faculty at Le Moyne College. He joined the W&L faculty in 2003. Murdock earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Georgia, completed a clinical internship at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and taught at the University of Massachusetts Boston for seven years before joining the W&L faculty in 2005. Recognizing common research interests and benefits of combining their expertise in different research methodologies, they decided to merge some aspects of their research labs in 2014. Since then, members of their Technology, Health and Cognition (THaC) lab have applied their skills in all kinds of projects and career paths.
The THaC lab investigates a range of issues related to the effects of cellphone use on teens and emerging adults. One aspect of their work has focused on how cellphone-related distractions are associated with both physiological and cognitive changes during challenging tasks. Another set of studies has examined how patterns of cellphone use are associated with indicators of psychological wellbeing such as symptoms of anxiety and depression. Currently, the THaC lab is investigating how new accelerometry sensors can be used to measure physical activity to establish links with other psychological metrics. This past winter, Murdock
and Whiting traveled to New York City with six members of the lab to present their most recent findings at the Eastern Psychological Association conference. During the summer of 2025, seven THaC lab members will be conducting studies related to social media use, physical activity, perceptions of emotional experiences and psychological well-being.
In 2024, Whiting and Murdock taught the CBSC Department’s first Spring Term abroad class in Copenhagen, Denmark. The course invited students to consider issues related to “happiness valuation” –that is, the importance given to feeling or acting happy. Since Denmark routinely ranks among the happiest countries in the world, it was a natural choice for exploring happiness from a cross-cultural perspective. Eighteen students spent two weeks in Lexington studying the research literature on happiness and then decamped to Copenhagen where they learned about how positive emotions are conceptualized, supported and embodied there. In the spring of 2026, Murdock and Whiting will return to Denmark with a new crew of students to consider Affect Valuation and Well-Being. ■
Full Story
Hear more about Wythe’s research and the ThaC lab in Lifelong Learning’s W&L After Class podcast.
Students Presenting at Conferences and Publishing with Faculty
*indicates current student; ** indicates alum
W&L Gender Psychology Lab
Fulcher M., Seymour* C., Sondey* J. and Golub* C. “Build-a-model: Important Characteristics for Girls.” Poster presented at the Midwestern Psychological Association conference, Chicago, April 2025.
Technology, Health and Cognition Lab
Addepalli* L., Flynn* M., Hackman* D., Olatunbosun* O. and Clark* S., “Physical activity, screen time, and psychosocial well-being: Methodological study of FIBION sensors.” Poster presented at the Eastern Psychological Association conference, New York City, March 2025.
Prejudice and Intergroup Relations Lab
Isabella M. Griffith*, Emma J. Smith** and Julie A. Woodzicka, “Sexual Identity and Perceived Power: Exploring Disparities in Power Allocation Between LGBTQA+ and Cishet Participants.” Poster presented at the L. Starling Reid Psychology Research Conference, Charlottesville, Virginia, April 2025.
Publications including students
Julie A. Woodzicka, Grace H. Boudreau** and Sarah L. Hayne**, November 2024.
“Do professors favor liberal students? Examining political orientation appearance cues and professor bias,” Front. Educ. Vol 9-2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/ feduc.2024.1473967
Thank You for Donations
This year, student conference travel was made available by funds from the Provost’s Office, the David G. Elmes Endowment and the Psychology Endowment for Support of Student Professional and Scholarly Development.
Left to right: Jessie Sondey and Cate Seymour at their poster, MPA.
Left to right: Tolu Bakare, Sarah Clark, Dani Hackman, Leela Addepalli, Olaide Olatunbosun, Matt Flynn at their poster, EPA.
Student Poster Sessions
Students in Advanced Methods courses (soon to be called Research Capstone courses) began presenting their work in one of two departmental poster session, one in December and one in April.
Fall 2024: Advanced Methods in Hormones and Social Behavior
Winter 2025: Advances Methods in Human Psychophysiology
Cognition and Emotion
Language, Culture and Emotion
Carl L. Hart, Mamie Phipps Clark Professor of Psychology at Columbia University, research scientist at the New York State Psychiatric Institute and widely recognized as an expert on neuropsychopharmacology, presented the 2024-2025 Root lecture.
CARL L. HART DELIVERED ROBERT W. ROOT ’42 ENDOWMENT LECTURE AT W&L
EXCERPT FROM STORY BY BRIAN LAUBSCHER, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS. Read full story here.
sPeakIng to a standIng-room only stackhouse Theater, Hart’s lecture, “Drug Use, Misuse and Sciencebased, Rational Drug Policy,” reviewed his development as a scientist and critical thinker regarding drug policy.
Recognized as one of the world’s preeminent experts in neuropsychopharmacology, Hart has published more than 100 scientific and popular articles investigating the effects of drug use on the brain, behavior and society. He is the co-author of the textbook “Drugs, Society and Human Behavior,” and his latest book, “Drug Use for Grown-ups,” has changed the national conversation on responsible drug use.
“I’m excited that we’re finally able to bring Dr. Hart to campus,” said Bob Stewart, professor of cognitive and behavioral science at W&L. “I’ve long admired his contributions to the basic science of psychoactive drugs and behavior and the way he has
been able to communicate the broad importance of psychopharmacological research to a wider audience. His clear-eyed, energetic and fearless advocacy for the development of rational drug policy has helped to highlight the needless societal harm that has come from well-meaning but misinformed, often emotionally charged and politically motivated efforts to control drug use. I expect Dr. Hart’s presentation to stimulate vigorous, productive debate about how science can be used to structure drug policy that promotes justice and reduces the individual and societal harms of drugs.”
Hart’s lecture was sponsored by W&L’s Department of Cognitive and Behavioral Science and the Root Lecture Fund. The Root Lecture Fund was established by Robert W. Root ’42 in 1991 to support guest speakers selected on a rotating basis by cognitive and behavioral science, philosophy and religion. ■
Young Alumni Panel and Spring Alumni Panel
OVER THE PAST YEARS CBSC majorS have made it Clear that they are interested in learning more about the variety of careers that are related to Cognitive and Behavioral Science. To this end, the department invited alumni to share their career-related experiences on two different panels, one during Young Alumni Weekend in the fall and the other before Spring Term began. Thank you, alums, for paying it back.
Thanks to young alums for taking time out of a gorgeous weekend to talk to students. If anyone coming back in September for Young Alumni Weekend 2025 is interested in participating in a panel, please let us know.
And thanks to alums who gave so much time to travel here and spend a lot of time with us in the Spring:
• Brodie Riordan ’03, I/O Psychologist and Executive Coach
• Rian Lewis ’05, General District Court Judge
• Sarah Otey ’07, Commissioner, University Athletics Association
• Meredith Hardy ’14, Physical Therapist
• Randl Dent ’15, Foundation Program Officer
• Graham Pergande ’20, Social Worker/Counselor
• Enuma Anekwe-Desincé ’22, incoming law student, former Research Coordinator
The spring career alumni panel was followed by breakout sessions and dinner, and alums kindly stayed and joined the endof-term poster session the next day.
All panelists shared thoughtful comments and students were excited and thankful to have the time to hear from and talk to alums. Thank you!
If you are open to having students contact you about what you do, please reach out and let us know (if you haven’t already) by contacting Sarah Wilson. And if you are interested in getting back to Lexington and participating in a spring alumni panel, please contact Julie Woodzicka. Last but not least, if you know of internships available to undergraduates, at your place of work or elsewhere, please be in touch with Sarah or Julie. ■
MICHAEL KERN ’06 DELIVERED LECTURE ON TRENDS IN EDUCATION AND PSYCHOLOGY
Excerpt from story by Emily Innes, University Communications. Read full story here.
Michael Kern ’06, the Lambert Family Chair in Counseling and the director of Student Support Services at Interlochen Center for the Arts, delivered a lecture titled “Back to Basics: How Fundamental Research Explains Trends in Education and Psychology” on Feb. 3 at Washington and Lee University.
In his lecture, Kern explored how foundational concepts in cognitive psychology can help us understand and critically evaluate current trends in education and therapy. By examining theories like “depth of processing” and “limited-capacity processing,” Kern uncovered the timeless principles driving innovations in areas such as reading, memory and learning.
After graduating from W&L with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, Kern taught fourth – and fifth-grade science and technical theater in New Orleans. He received his Ph.D. in school psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University; his graduate research focused on memory, note-taking and study skills, with a particular interest in translating research on learning and emotional development into meaningful strategies that help students become independent learners. Kern’s expertise is in working with students, families and teachers to evaluate and provide school-based support for students with a variety of learning and socioemotional needs. ■
REUNION WEEKEND
When back for a reunion weekend, plan to have a pint with faculty new and not-so-new. Thanks to all the alums who joined us this year. Maggie Hope Meyer ’05 won the sweatshirt giveaway!
Back: Professor Emeritus Tyler Lorig, Professor Bob Stewart, Michelle Chastain ’05, Beth LeBlanc ’05, Rian Lewis ’05 (Everyone was supposed to make a face, not just Rian!), Allen Barry ’05, Anne Johansen ’05
Front: Assistant Professor Nydia Alaya, Maggie Hope Meyer ’05, Professor Julie Woodzicka, Martha Allgood Hastings ’05
Not all pictured here: We are working on our picture-taking timing!
MAURY HITCHCOCK ’04
I continue to love teaching second grade at Westminster Schools in Atlanta, and am currently wrapping up my 21st year in elementary education. Spending my days with small humans is constantly entertaining :) When I’m not teaching, I’m running my children (14-year-old son Charlie and 12-yearold daughter Helen) around town to their various sports and social activities. And when we have a break from that (sometimes hectic) rhythm, we love visiting national parks! Here’s a photo of us in The Grand Tetons last summer. ■
Lylan lives in Greensboro, North Carolina, with her husband and two children. She completed her master’s degree in clinical mental health counseling at University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2007 and is a LCMHC, LCAS, NCC, MAC. Lylan serves as the vice president and chief program officer at the Kellin Foundation, a behavioral health nonprofit, and has her own private counseling practice as well. In her free time, Lylan enjoys watching her children in their respective sports (archery and lacrosse), running, reading, baking and cooking. ■
BETHANY DANNELLY ’05
In October, I started a new job as commissioner of the Ohio Athletic Conference. I have been working in athletics for many years, and yet the current landscape of collegiate athletics brings many new unique challenges. The challenges are fun (most of the time) to navigate, and I am fortunate to work with wonderful people! Outside of work I have three dogs (two golden retrievers and a golden retriever/husky), and I try to get out on trail runs or hikes very regularly. ■
Rian is entering year four of her first term as a General District Court judge in Newport News, Virginia. Rian presides over a behavioral health docket in her court, which allows her to utilize her psychology degrees while dealing with criminal defendants who come in to contact with the justice system by virtue of their serious mental illnesses. Rian is happily married with two young sons who keep her on her toes. ■
LYLAN CRITES WINGFIELD ’05
RIAN LEWIS ’05
Psychology Meetup ALUMNI UPDATES
JESS GOOD ’06
I am currently a social psychologist at Davidson College, where I have been teaching for the past 13 years. I was recently promoted to full professor, and I have one year left on a four-year stint as department chair. I live in Davidson, North Carolina with my husband (Steve), daughter (Ryan – age 11), son (Tom – age 8), dog (George) and two cats (Ziggy and Tilly). We are getting a new puppy this summer, and at the moment, we have a litter of foster kittens living with us, so it is a bit of a zoo! Our favorite thing to do with the whole crew is head to the mountains to hike and ski. ■
KEATON FLETCHER ’13
Keaton is going up for tenure at Colorado State University in I-O psychology, where his research focuses on the social stress of work and his wife, Kimberly French, just got tenure in the same department where she researches the work-family interface. They are taking advantage of the move out West and visiting different national parks, like their family spring break trip to Arches National Park in Moab, Utah. ■
TRICHIA BRAVI ’18
I have recently celebrated my two-year anniversary as a EMDR-trained trauma therapist at a nonprofit agency focused on serving survivors of domestic violence, intimate partner violence and child abuse in and around Cleveland. I’ve also recently started working part-time at a private practice focused on perinatal and maternal mental health. I am actively studying for my clinical exam to become a Licensed Independent Social Worker in Ohio and anticipate I’ll be able to take my exam within the next few months. And on the personal side, I’m about to purchase my first home with my partner, and we recently adopted a dog named Pasta! ■
Keaton is looking to organize a W&L I-O Psychology meetup at SIOP 2026. If you plan on attending the conference and are interested in meeting up, email him at: keaton.fletcher@colostate.edu.
ABBY HINRICHS ’20 AND STEVEN HOLTHOUSER ’21
Abby and Steven got married in November of this past year. Currently, Abby is working as a pediatric feeding therapist at Akron Children’s Hospital. Steven is pursuing his Ph.D. in I-O Psychology at the University of Akron and is currently working on his dissertation. ■
ENUMA ANEKWE-DESINCÉ ’22
Since graduating from W&L, I have been working as a senior research administration coordinator at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, focusing on coordinating research in the disciplines of accounting, marketing, organizational behavior and information systems for professors on undergraduate and graduate students. In the fall, I will conclude my time at Emory and begin earning my JD at Columbia Law School in New York on a full-tuition scholarship. ■
HANNAH O’CONNOR ’22
At the beginning of May, I officially wrapped up my first year as a clinical psychology Ph.D. student! I am at the University of Connecticut in the Connecticut Autism and Language Lab under Dr. Inge-Marie Eigsti. Currently, I am working on my master’s thesis as part of my Ph.D. track looking at gesture production in autistic adolescents and young adults. My goal is to work as a pediatric neuropsychologist after completion of my Ph.D. In between all of the work, I have been enjoying exploring New England and hanging out with my friends in my cohort! ■
TAHRI PHILLIPS ’23
I am a Rhodes Scholar at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where I’m currently in the second year of my master’s in evidence-based social intervention and policy evaluation. After completing my degree this summer, I will be moving back to Pennsylvania to serve as the director of curriculum and communications for Attollo Prep, a nonprofit college access and leadership program. ■
Check out our website!
Young Alums! If you are here the Friday afternoon of Young Alumni Weekend 2025, please stop by Parmly 225 for a PSYC/CBSC get-together with faculty! The reception is on Friday, 9/19 from 2:30-3:30pm — snacks will be provided. We hope to see you then!
