Distinguished Alumni Award

Joseph E. Steinmetz, '77 MA '79, has distinguished himself in the fields of psychology and neuroscience and in higher education administration.

His major research interest throughout his career has been studying memory and learning in mammals. Specifically, he has conducted many experiments involving animal models and human subjects to explore how the brain is altered during simple associative learning.

In addition to his degrees from CMU, Joseph also earned a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Ohio University, and he was a postdoctoral scholar and research associate for four years at Stanford University.

Joseph joined the psychology faculty at Indiana University in 1987 and steadily moved through the ranks. He was elevated to the rank of distinguished professor this past year. His research has been continually supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and pharmaceutical companies. His work has produced more than 160 publications, including peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, three edited books, and one co-authored book.

From 1995 to 2005, Joseph served as psychology department chairman at Indiana University. In 2005 he assumed the role of executive associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Indiana University. On July 1 he begins his new job as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Kansas.