Profs say a Psych Departmant split is unlikely

Psych professors reiterated calls for a new space large enough for all of their offices. Despite talk about splitting the Psychology Department into two specialized programs, faculty say a division of the department is highly unlikely. At a University Council meeting last week, University President Judith Rodin said the department was reevaluating its internal structure, in turn delaying a decision on future facilities accommodations. But Psychology Chairperson Robert Seyfarth said a national discussion about the two divergent branches of psychology -- cognitive science and neuroscience -- has spurred only half-hearted dialogue about a split for his department. Although psychology was once "a simple discipline" it now contains "everything from social psychology to neuro-psychology," he explained. Still, the department will hold meetings on November 26 and December 3 to discuss the division, Seyfarth said. Talks of a split became public at last week, when Psych lost its bid for rights to build a new facility on the current Book Store site. Psychology professors have long been asking for new facilities that would consolidate all of their offices in the same building. The department now occupies a laboratories building on Locust Walk and a faculty office building at 38th and Walnut streets. In addition, many Psychology classes are held in Stiteler Hall. Professors said the dispersed facilities complicate communication within the department and force professors to waste time traveling between buildings. Physical consolidation aside, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Robert Rescorla -- also a Psychology professor -- predicted his department would remain intact. "There's a real intelligent gain to have the subparts of psychology interact with each other," he said. He added that many faculty members would not know which branch to join, as both areas figure into many professors' research. As Psych's only decision-making specialist, Professor Jonathan Baron, he would "fall between the cracks" if the department were to split. Baron added that he is not worried about the situation because he thinks that it would be illogical for the department to split across the inter-related lines. According to Rescorla, the department has a "strong scientific tradition," but serves an undergraduate body that is more interested in clinical psychology. "We give a lot of science to students who wouldn't otherwise get it or accept it," Rescorla said. College sophomore Dara Gruen, a research assistant for Psychology Professor Martin Seligman, stressed the importance of learning about both clinical and biological aspects of psychology. "If you're exposed to both sides, you can make your own decision on how you're going to use that in your career," Gruen said.