In celebration of not only the Centennial mark of the University of West Georgia, but also in honor of the fortieth anniversary of the psychology department founded by Myron (Mike) Arons in 1967, we would like to hold a gathering of all students, alumni, faculty (both past and current), and associates of the department. This gathering, held in honor of alumni, is a nexus for the meeting of minds, both past and present. The purpose and vision is to bring together the various flavors of the department that have come and gone through the years. Perhaps another way of saying this is, "Past Meets Present." This is a very exciting opportunity for the history of the department to come alive and not just stay buried, unseen and unexplored, in the archives.
For the first time ever, psychology students, faculty, and alumni are coming together to organize an alumni conference/reunion to realize this vision. It so happens that this coming academic year is …All alumni are not only invited but ardently encouraged to return to Carrollton to visit and spread wisdom and knowledge of their experiences and applications afterwards to those of us who are still in the program. Whether you were an undergraduate, a graduate, alumnus, faculty (either current or retired) or you simply spent some time in the program as part of the journey of your life, please try to attend this meeting of the minds as we herald in the fortieth year of our department.
This is a little excerpt from the psychology department website:
"In 1967, Abraham Maslow received a call from the psychology department at West Georgia. One of the department's faculty, Jim Thomas, had been reading Rogers, Maslow, and Combs. Through them, he saw an approach to psychology that embodied his dream - a psychology education that spoke to students' lives. His persuasion won over his colleagues, and they asked Maslow to suggest a new department chair that could initiate a humanistic emphasis. They really had no idea what they were in for - they simply understood the need to make the teaching of psychology relevant to real life experience. Maslow nominated Mike Arons, who thought it up and made it happen . . . "
This celebration, the 2007 Psychology Alumni Conference will be held the coming next spring, starting Friday, March 30th and ending on Sunday, April 1st. This will be a time not only of the Centennial mark of the university itself, but of the forty-year anniversary of our humanistic psychology department. We have a lively team who I'm working with at the moment to help make all this happen. The theme for this convention will be "Past Meets Present." The flavor of the department was very different back in the day. So the idea is to get a dialogue going between the current wave of students and the previous generation of students. As such, not only alumni but all retired faculty will also be invited. Mike Arons has been extremely supportive in this effort and will most likely be a guest speaker at the conference.
Registration for the event has not been set yet, but is projected to be somewhere around $200 for alumni. Registration packets will be sent out in early Spring, so please be sure the Alumni Center has your correct address. In addition to those, we ask that you register on the website so that we may get a good idea of the number of people attending. In case you are interested in presenting at the conference (more information will be provided about this soon), please indicate as such on the registration form.
Please also keep checking back to this site for announcements and updates. Feel free to address any questions to the Conference Coordinators, Sangeeta Dave and David Sluder, at uwgpsyalumni@gmail.com.