Each spring, the clinical area holds PsychFest, a daylong event and banquet in honor of third-year students. This event features individual presentations by third-year students of their current research (typically, the second-year project) and course of future studies. The department invites a distinguished speaker to attend the event, meet with students, and give a lecture; organizers solicit student input when choosing each year’s speaker. Speakers have included:

Michael Bailey, Northwestern University (2000)

John Weisz, UCLA (2001)

Jack Rachman, the University of British Columbia (fall, 2002)

Edna Foa, the University of Pennsylvania (spring, 2004)

Margaret Kemeny, UCSF (2005)

Bill Miller, the University of New Mexico (2006)

Andrew Shatte' , Managing Director at Adaptiv Learning Systems (2007)

James Coyne, the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (2008)

Julia Heiman, director of The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction (2009)

Elizabeth Loftus, University of California, Irvine (2010)

Charles Carver, Distinguished Professor at the University of Miami (2011)

Please click this link for a list of student presentations from this year's event.

The Polka Docs, a band comprised of several clinical faculty members (and quite possibly the only band featuring an accordion AND a didgeridoo), has provided entertainment at a number of the evening banquets.

A highlight of PsychFest is the presentation of the Lee Willerman Award for Excellence in Research, which is given for the outstanding student paper publication. Dr. Willerman, a distinguished researcher in the clinical area from 1971 until his untimely death in 1997, was well-loved by his students and colleagues. The area established the award in 2000 as a tribute to Dr. Willerman and his contributions to the department and the field. The winner receives a plaque and a cash award, and his or her name is added to the permanent plaque displayed in the Seay library.

The area hosts a fall dinner and party for clinical faculty, students, and their partners or spouses. A party highlight is the videotape made by second-year students to welcome the first-year students. In past years, this "welcome video" has included Dr. Telch’s moving efforts to excite a depressed clown, Co-Directors Caryn Carlson and Marc Lewis doing the hustle, and a current doctoral student "dumpster diving" to find a golden ticket admitting him to the clinical program.

Faculty and students alike are in awe of Dr. Telch’s horseshoe throwing skills, demonstrated at last year’s clinical area party.

First-year students for 2004-2005: Cindy Stappenbeck, Heather Brister, Becca North, and Seungsoo Ha.

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