Psychology professor Penny Pexman joins research leadership team

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Penny Pexman, PhD, as associate vice-president (research), beginning July 1, 2018. Pexman will play a key role in executing the vision of our 2018-2023 Research Plan as we continue our quest to achieve our Eyes High goals.

Pexman is currently associate dean (research, graduate education, and faculty development) in the Faculty of Arts and a professor in the Department of Psychology. She earned her PhD in psychology at the University of Western Ontario in 1998 and joined the University of Calgary the same year.

Pexman’s research expertise is in cognitive development, psycholinguistics, and cognitive neuroscience. For the past two decades her research has been funded by both SSHRC and NSERC, including NSERC’s prestigious Discovery Accelerator Supplement in 2008.

She has served on multiple national grant adjudication panels, including NSERC Discovery, Research Tools and Instruments, and Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship committees. She was appointed the University of Calgary’s SSHRC Leader in 2017 and in that role serves as a point of contact between SSHRC and the University of Calgary.

Pexman is a past president of the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour, and Cognitive Science and has been editor-in-chief of the Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology since 2013. In 2016, with funding from NSERC, Pexman co-founded Women in Cognitive Science Canada, a national organization offering professional development and networking opportunities to promote diversity and inclusion in cognitive science and related disciplines. An award-winning mentor and researcher, Pexman is an elected Fellow of both the Canadian Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.

Pexman joins the research leadership team composed of six colleagues who are all engaged in initiatives across the academy and dedicated to advancing our research priorities: Dr. Andre Buret, PhD, professor in the Faculty of Science; Dr. Susan Skone, PhD, professor in the Schulich School of Engineering; Drs. John Reynolds, PhD, and Marcello Tonelli, MD, professors in the Cumming School of Medicine; Peter Garrett, CEO Innovate Calgary and AVPR Innovation; and Joelle Foster, executive director, Hunter Hub for Entrepreneurial Thinking.

Please join me in congratulating Dr. Pexman on her appointment.

Dr. Ed McCauley
Vice-President (Research)