SPSSI President 2018-2019

Elizabeth R. Cole. As interim dean of LSA, Cole’s focus is on maintaining academic excellence, supporting the LSA Opportunity Hub, implementing the college’s strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion, and developing students’ ability to engage in dialogue with people from different experiences and backgrounds. She encourages students to take advantage of the breathtaking range of all that LSA has to offer and to know the college is committed to seeing them thrive. As a scholar, Cole works to understand the way race, gender, and social class are socially constructed, and people’s experiences of them, and she is president of the Society for the Study of Social Issues. Her research has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health and recognized by the American Psychological Association. A proud LSA alumna, she has served as associate dean for social sciences since 2014 and been the recipient of the University of Michigan’s Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award, the Sarah Goddard Power Award, and the John Dewey Teaching Award. In addition to serving as interim dean, Cole teaches courses on the intersection of race, class, and gender. She earned her B.A. in psychology from Boston University and her Ph.D. in psychology from University of Michigan.