UA Psychologist to Lead Prestigious Organization, Appointed to Prominent Professorship

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Dr. John Lochman, professor and Saxon Chair of Clinical Psychology at The University of Alabama, has been elected to the board of directors of the international Society for Prevention Research and appointed to a professorship at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands.

Lochman, a professor in UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, will be part of the Society for Prevention Research’s board from 2007-2009. The society, which has close connections to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Institute on Mental Health, seeks to advance science-based prevention programs and policies through empirical research.

The international membership of the organization includes scientists, practitioners, administrators and policy makers who are concerned with the prevention of social, physical and mental health problems and the promotion of health, safety and well-being.

At the University of Utrecht, Lochman will serve as special professor of interdisciplinary behavioral research within the department of social sciences, visiting professor in the Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neurosciences and visiting professor in the department of child and adolescent psychiatry.

“I see this professorship as a unique opportunity to further develop collaborative research with colleagues in the Netherlands, especially in studying the relation between neurocognitive function and aggressive behavior. I am also very excited about facilitating innovative research that I envision coming from the Center for the Prevention of Youth Behavior Problems here at UA,” said Lochman, who directs that center.

Lochman specializes in the behavior and treatment of high-risk aggressive children and adolescents. He has conducted extensive research into preventive intervention programs and cognitive-behavioral intervention techniques for high-risk children both at school and in the family.

His nationally acclaimed program, “Coping Power,” is a school-based intervention program for children with aggressive behaviors consisting of structured group sessions and periodic individual sessions for both the child and parent. Studies of children with aggressive behavior in two states and in the Netherlands indicate the program is effective in reducing delinquency and substance abuse rates among youth. The behavior program has been published in English, Dutch and Spanish. In 2004 Lochman’s work was recognized with an honorary doctorate by the University of Utrecht.

Lochman is also the recipient of the University’s 2006 Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award. The Blackmon-Moody Award is one of the highest honors bestowed on faculty at The University of Alabama.

Lochman, who is also an adjunct professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Duke University Medical Center, has published more than 125 journal articles, 60 book chapters and two books, and has presented almost 200 papers at psychology conferences.

He serves as editor-in-chief for the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, is on the editorial boards for Developmental Psychology, Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, and Behavior Therapy, is an editorial consultant for Child Development and action editor for Prevention Science.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the “USA Today” Academic All American Teams.