Dr. Corty named Director of School of H&SS
Dr. Eric Corty, Professor of Psychology, was recently named the new Director of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences.
After acting as the interim director for two years, Corty was brought in alongside two other candidates to interview for the official position this fall. As director, Corty will be the chief academic and administrative officer of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, whose duties include overseeing how the school’s curricula is developed and implemented across campus as well as supervising the academic, scholarly, service, and outreach mission of the school, according to the Behrend website.
Corty was drawn to Humanities and Social Sciences since his decision to attend Vassar College as an undergraduate. Stating that he originally planned on studying Chinese, Corty soon switched to studying Psychology as he spent more time at the liberal arts school and began to learn more about himself through his experiences.
“College is a place to explore options, to read and learn and discuss,” said Corty in a recent interview.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in Psychology at Vassar, Corty went on to receive a PhD in Psychology from Indiana University. Afterwards, he completed two postdoctoral fellowships, one in neuropsychopharmacology from the University of Pennsylvania, and then a second one in human sexuality from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, in the Department of Psychiatry.
Corty began teaching at Penn State Behrend after moving to Cleveland with his wife in 1993, having taught at Bradley University in Illinois for five years. Though he applied for a one-year position at Behrend with plans to move on after the year was completed, Corty is on his 23rd year of teaching for Penn State Behrend.
Looking forward to what he hopes to accomplish as director, Corty expressed his enthusiasm for the qualities that already exist in Behrend’s School of Humanities and Social. Sciences, stating that the School’s success is largely due the faculty.
Additionally, Corty emphasized the importance of Behrend’s research programs in strengthening the student body. “More experiences as undergraduates help to better prepare them for graduate school or the work force,” said Corty. “Behrend has numerous research opportunities for students, and I hope to continue to be able to present students with these experiences and opportunities.”
In order to continue offering these opportunities to Behrend’s wide base of undergraduate students, Corty hopes to see the Humanities and Social Sciences continue to successfully expand under his direction. Among the growth he’d like to see is the expansion of the Communications program, among others.
“Over the past few years, we’ve expanded the television station on campus, and I hope to see Communications program grow even further,” Corty stated.
However, one change that Corty hopes to accomplish as director is the expansion of Behrend’s art programs. Though the school offers numerous art courses and hosts multiple art shows throughout the school year, Corty is especially enthusiastic about establishing a stronger presence of art on campus. “I love art, and I want the school to have more art, to slowly develop new programs and grow our existing ones,” he said.
Corty is particularly thrilled about the new piece in the Irvin Kochel Center entitled Don’t Give Up the Ship. This mural, when viewed through the camera lens of a smartphone on the Blippar App, begins to reshape, ultimately producing a moving ship. Corty cited “Don’t Give Up the Ship” as the kind of artwork he would like to see popularized on campus, hoping to see not only the expansion of student projects, but also increase the amount of art around campus in general as well.
“I hope to continue the great traditions that we already have here at Behrend,” said Corty.
Ultimately, Corty hopes to see a continuation of the expansion of the programs in the School of Humanities and Social Science, an expansion that has already begun around campus, all while continuing to focus on Behrend’s strengths.
