Prof. of Psychology Named to Endowed Professorship
A newly endowed professorship of psychology has been awarded to a 10-year veteran professor at St. Lawrence University.
Serge Onyper, associate professor of psychology, has been named to the James R. Wallace Professorship in Psychology. Onyper was selected by the University's Faculty Professional Standards Committee and President William L. Fox and will serve a seven-year term.
The endowed professorship came as the result of a $2.5 million gift to St. Lawrence by Hilary Ayn Valentine ’89 to honor psychology professor emeritus James R. Wallace for his 40-year impact on students, children and teachers. A graduate of the Class of 1989, Valentine earned a degree in psychology and has supported the Department of Psychology as well as other University programs and projects through her gifts.
Onyper received his Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Syracuse University in 2007. Since arriving at St. Lawrence, he has worked with countless students on their undergraduate research projects and has written and co-authored numerous peer-reviewed journal articles on a variety of psychological research topics.
“I enjoy teaching classes with laboratory components that present opportunities for small group discussions with a few students at a time or one-on-one work, and I have an active research lab where students, my colleagues on the faculty, and I study topics that fascinate us,” Onyper states in his professional biography. “I love watching students learn and grow – as rational beings, aspiring scientists, or individuals – and teaching, advising, and working on research all allow me to do just that.”
Wallace retired in May of 2017 after serving on the St. Lawrence faculty since in 1974.
The endowment funds a tenure-track position in the Department of Psychology.