Dean Barry Elected President of Professional Organization
Carolyn McNamara Barry, Ph.D., dean of The University of Scranton’s College of Arts and Sciences, recently began her tenure as president of the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA). Dr. Barry gave the presidential address in June at the organization’s annual conference.Research indicates that people grow and change through four main areas: their bodies, their minds, their relationships and their emotions.
“As a developmental psychologist, I always want to understand how the four domains of development — physical, cognitive, social and psychological — intersect and together shape how people can thrive,” said Carolyn McNamara Barry, Ph.D., dean of The University of Scranton’s College of Arts and Sciences. “Understanding the historical effect of COVID on young people and how best to support them now within college contexts has been a burning question for me since I became an associate dean in 2019-2020 when COVID hit.”
Armed with her own curiosity and expertise, as well as help from a Scranton undergraduate student, Dr. Barry delved deeper into the topic at the recent Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood (SSEA) conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
Dr. Barry was not just an attendee or lecturer at the event; instead, she was the president.
After serving two years as president-elect, Dr. Barry in June officially stepped into the role of president of the SSEA. It is an international organization with about 450 members, focusing on theory and research related to emerging adults (ages 18-29).
Dr. Barry’s presidential address, “The New Normal of Emerging Adulthood in a Post-Pandemic World: Challenges, Opportunities and Recommendation,” was given at the SSEA’s annual conference, held June 4-6.
My Kim Dang ’24, who graduated in December with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, was a key contributor in Dr. Barry’s presentation. Dang assisted in the project by gathering literature and other resources during the fall semester as part of the University’s Faculty Student Research Program. Dr. Barry and Dang are now working to turn the address into a manuscript they will submit to the Society’s journal, “Emerging Adulthood."
Dr. Barry’s term as SSEA president runs for two years, ending in June 2027 at its next conference in Montreal, Canada. SSEA membership is open to anyone actively engaged in research, teaching, practice or policy relating to emerging adulthood.
Dr. Barry, who was a professor of psychology and later an associate dean at Loyola University Maryland before joining The University of Scranton in 2024 as the College of Arts and Sciences dean, earned her Ph.D. in human development with a specialization in education psychology from the University of Maryland.
