Name, Credentials:  Jeryl L. Mumpower, Ph.D.

Job Title:  Division Director

Company / Organization:  U.S. National Science Foundation

Department:  Social and Economic Sciences

City, State:  Arlington, VA

Email:  jmumpower@tamu.edu

Education: 

BA, College of William and Mary

Ph.D. (Psychology), University of Colorado, Boulder

What are your primary duties in this position?  Division Director -- oversee a unit that provides approximately $100 million a year in support for social and economic sciences.

What do you enjoy about your work? What are the perks and drawbacks?  Great opportunity to support basic research in social, behavioral, and economic sciences, with some minor drawbacks of working within federal bureaucracy.

Career path: how did you land this position? What do you see in your future career plans?  I have spent most of my career in academic positions, with three tours of duty at NSF.  I plan to return to my position as a tenured, full professor at a research university in August 2015.

What career advice would you like to share with graduate students seeking careers in your field?  Mine was an odd track, but I would encourage all interested in a career of research administration to explore opportunities for limited-term appointments in federal agencies or non-profit foundations.

Ways I am involved with SPSSI:  Read newsletters / mailings / website

What is the importance of SPSSI for psychologists working outside of academia?  Clearly dependent of exact career path, but the more applied, practical, policy orientation should be generally helpful.

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