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Adelphi Appoints New Dean of Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology

Garden City, NY (08/01/2023) — Adelphi University has named J. Christopher Muran, PhD, the new dean of the Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology. Muran will begin his role on August 7.

Muran joined Derner 14 years ago as associate dean and director of the PhD Program in Clinical Psychology. He also recently served as interim dean of Derner, leading the School through the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I feel very honored and privileged to be the seventh dean of our storied school," said Muran. "Derner is positioned more than ever to better realize our overall identity as an integrative, empirically informed school of psychology with a long psychoanalytic tradition and commitment to social justice. "

Prior to joining Adelphi, Muran was chief psychologist for 15 years in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Beth Israel Medical Center (now Mount Sinai) in New York City, where he expanded the role of psychology across various clinical services and developed externship, internship and postdoctoral training programs. He also developed its Psychotherapy Research Program, which he has directed over the past 30 years. Muran has held academic appointments at the International Psychoanalytic University in Berlin, Germany, and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, and currently holds appointments at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the New York University Postdoctoral Program in Psychotherapy and Psychoanalysis.

Muran earned his doctorate in professional-scientific psychology from Hofstra University and his bachelor's degree in psychology and English from Hamilton College. His scholarship focuses on patient-therapist interactions, integrating principles from interpersonal and intersubjective research and from the cognitive and emotion sciences.

"As dean, Chris Muran will expand on the Derner School's proud legacy as the nation's first university-based professional school of psychology. He is an international leader in scholarship, dedicated to preparing Adelphi graduates for consequential roles in our changing world," said Christopher Storm, PhD, Adelphi's provost and executive vice president. "The feedback of our search committee and more than 60 members of the Derner community contributed to his selection as a dean who will lead the transformative efforts taking place."

Muran has published 10 books and over 170 papers and has received multiple grants awards from our National Institute of Health and distinguished lifetime career awards for his research. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and serves on its Advisory Steering Committee for Clinical Practice Guidelines. He is also past president for the international Society for Psychotherapy Research and past editor of its journal Psychotherapy Research and serves on several editorial boards.

Learn more about Adelphi's Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology.

About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning

Adelphi University, New York, is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students' lives through small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi offers exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training at the undergraduate and graduate level with particular strength in our Core Four-Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness.

Recognized as a Best College by U.S. News & World Report, Adelphi is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. It serves more than 7,250 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York-just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities-and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, as well as online.

More than 119,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, engaged citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities, and the world.

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J. Christopher Muran, PhD, is the new dean of Adelphi University's Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology.

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