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News Gerald C. Davison Introduced as New Dean of the September 29, 2006 – In an announcement made this week by Provost C.L. Max Nikias on behalf of President Steven B. Sample, Gerald C. Davison was named the new dean of the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and Executive Director of the Andrus Gerontology Center. Dean Davison currently serves as interim dean of the USC School of Architecture, and as chair of the department of psychology in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, where he is a professor. He will be the holder of the William and Sylvia Kugel Dean’s Chair in Gerontology. His appointment comes at an exciting time of growth for the Davis School, which revamped its facilities this fall as part of the campus wide Technology Enhanced Learning and Distance Learning initiatives. “I am very pleased about the appointment and have already begun working with people there to get a running start,” said Davison. “Gerontology is inherently a multi and interdisciplinary field. Each of the faculty members has PhDs or an MD from different fields. The thing that unites them and the main reason I’m delighted is that they have a common interest in issues that relate to older adults and how people develop over the lifespan.” Effective January 1, 2007, the appointment follows an exhaustive national search that included many distinguished candidates. “Please join President Sample and me in congratulating Dean Davison on his appointment,” said Provost Nikias. “His dedication to USC is long-standing and noteworthy, and we all look forward to the contributions he will make in his newest role.” Dean Davison has wide-ranging administrative experience at USC and in national professional organizations. He previously served as president of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy and currently serves as president of the clinical division of the American Psychological Association and as chair of the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology. From 1994 to 1996, he was interim dean of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and led a significant expansion of the school’s activities in journalism and communication. He also played an active role in fundraising and in solidifying the school’s finances. Dean Davison is also a widely known researcher in an experimental branch of clinical psychology called cognitive behavior therapy, which he was instrumental in creating in the late 1960s. Among his more than 130 publications, his textbook on abnormal psychology, now in its tenth edition, is a leading text and has been used throughout the world since it was first published in 1974. “In 1979, when I came to USC, I was working on the third edition of the book and was excited about the school of gerontology because I always had an interest in psychology and aging,” Davison said. “I included a new chapter on psychological disorders in older adults. It was the first of its kind in an abnormal psychology textbook. Working on this chapter over the several revisions of the book has helped me gain an understanding of the broad field of gerontology. ” His many seminal theoretical and research contributions have earned him numerous distinctions, most notably the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Dean Davison will be replacing Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski who has served adeptly in the role of interim dean since June 2004. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Elizabeth Zelinski,” said Provost Nikias. “She has agreed to remain in this role through the end of this year.” The long-term vision for the school envisioned by Dean Davison, President Sample and Provost Nikias includes enhancing its position as a leader in the field of gerontology and creating new interdisciplinary educational and research programs with USC’s other schools. On the highest levels, USC administrators are committed to the school’s ascent. “There’s always room for improvement,” Davison said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to play a role in moving the school of gerontology forward.” Dean Davison remains passionately devoted to his students, having received the USC Associates Award for Excellence in Teaching, a Mellon Award for Excellence in Mentoring, and an appointment as a Distinguished Faculty Fellow in the Center for Excellence in Teaching. He also received the Albert S. Raubenheimer Award for Outstanding Teaching, Service, and Research from the College. He has guided close to fifty students to the Ph.D. during his forty year academic career. Dean Davison first came to USC in 1979 as director of the clinical psychology program in the College’s department of psychology, having previously served on the psychology faculty at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He received his bachelor’s degree from Harvard College and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. |
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