Psychologists in Academic Administration: A Call to Action and Service

Academic psychologists’ backgrounds may prepare them for many aspects of academic administration such as: understanding and working with people; prioritizing others’ needs and institutional needs; and managing projects and budgets, e.g., for research grants or training programs. Contemporary academic health centers also may provide opportunities for psychologists to serve in academic health administration. This article encourages psychologists to consider preparing for and seeking administrative and higher-level leadership roles. Six psychologists serving diverse administrative roles—from vice chairs in medical school departments to presidents of universities with academic health centers—reflected on: their paths to administration; their preparation for administrative roles; and the commonalities and differences between the work and skills sets of psychologist health service providers and the work and skill sets required for higher level administrative and leadership roles.