For Lance Garrison, Ph.D., dean of The Chicago School’s College of Professional Psychology, higher education leadership was not always necessarily in his vision. “I never anticipated going into higher education while I was in grad school,” he says. “I thought I’d be a clinician for life, but early in my career, a light bulb went off around the scale of impact: I could provide clinical support for individuals and have a meaningful impact, but if I helped to train the next generation of psychologists, I could multiply that impact and access to care exponentially.”
Dr. Garrison first became familiar with The Chicago School’s academic excellence as an intern. He says, “When I was completing my predoctoral internship in Chicago, I had the opportunity to work with several students from The Chicago School, and I was so impressed by how well prepared they were to support clients and communities. When the opportunity arose to join the university’s leadership team, I jumped at it immediately.”
Dr. Garrison began his career at The Chicago School as director and later dean of the university’s Dallas Campus, helping to cement the university as a leader in a new region of the country. “Today, as a college dean, I’m excited by the opportunity to integrate paths of impact across our locations and related academic programs to maximize access to expert, culturally competent care for communities throughout the country.”
The Chicago School’s President Michele Nealon, Psy.D., says Dr. Garrison has “always been an integral voice on our university’s leadership team. He’s always focused on the latest and greatest innovations in the field and how we can leverage these innovations for our students. I’m excited to see all that he will accomplish in leading our College of Professional Psychology.”
For Dr. Garrison, this next frontier of academic innovation will include artificial intelligence. “AI has a huge potential to deepen student learning by expanding and diversifying the interviewing and therapy delivery experience that students have before they even graduate,” he says. “By implementing AI tools and technologies across our college’s programs, we will remain a clear leader in psychology and mental health education.”