facilities
The clinical program has received strong support from the department and the university, and we feel fortunate to have ample resources to meet our student and faculty needs. Foremost on our list of resources is the new 52 million dollar Seay Psychology building, which we moved into in May 2002. The department occupies 80,711 square feet of space in the building, which features world-class research facilities, state-of-the-art computer labs and classrooms, two libraries, a number of well-situated conference and seminar rooms, and ample office space for graduate student research and teaching assistants. Our move to this impressive facility is an enormously positive and important event for our department, and will allow us to continue to build on our stature as a first-class research institution. In the words of our former department chair, Dr. Don Foss:
“The Sarah M. and Charles E. Seay Building is a model for a powerfully integrated approach to the study of human behavior. The building is a beautiful home for exciting advances in our understanding of human behavior. It provides a natural and stimulating setting for interaction among faculty, among students, and between students and faculty. We want it to be the best home for psychology in America - a place of discovery, service, and beauty.”
One particularly exciting aspect of the Seay building is that faculty were able to design their own labs. As a result, clinical faculty are enjoying the benefits of high quality research facilities individually tailored for their current research needs. For example, Dr. Kim Fromme’s alcohol research lab includes a “bar lab”, with two-way observation mirrors, that allows for naturalistic observation of drinking behavior in a real-life setting. Dr. Cindy Meston’s state-of-the-art lab for the study of female sexual dysfunction is one of a handful in the world that includes equipment for psychophysiological assessment. The labs of Drs. Carlson, Beevers, and Telch are all designed to allow for optimal clinical research, with facilities including individual and group assessment and/or treatment rooms.
The 3rd floor Clinical Training Clinic occupies half of the western wing, with eight treatment and assessment rooms outfitted with audio equipment and observation windows, a group room for clinic meetings and group therapy sessions, and a spacious waiting room for clients.
Of benefit to both faculty and graduate students is the department’s technical support. The Psychology department maintains a network of over 700 computers and a staff of 4 full-time and one half-time technicians. We also employ an instrument maker, a grant manager, and a coordinator of the undergraduate subject pool.
