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12 Bettina Shapira, PhD Department Chair; Department of Psychology Happy New Year and Welcome 2021! As most everyone, I could not wait for 2020 to be over and for 2021 to start. The last year was a difficult and trying year for most of us, if not all. We had to lockdown in the spring, then social distance and wear masks and deal with many uncertainties living during a pandemic. We were not able to see or hug family and friends and often Zoom meetings were the only way to see friends and family members. Many of us experienced cabin fever but could not go anywhere. None of this was easy or fun. To the contrary, it was often trying and difficult. Although circumstances have not changed yet, 2021 brings hope. Here in Florida vaccinations have started and finally it seems that there can be an end to being six feet apart. NCU has two graduations planned in 2021: one in May and one in September. It is my sincere wish that we can meet in person for at least one of the graduations; if not for both. So, see you soon. I want to share some personnel changes with you. In November of last year Dr. Mindi Mull came over from the SBSS Department, where she was the Associate Director of Faculty Support and Development, to join us as the Associate Department Chair. I think you all know Mindi well and please join me in warmly welcoming her to the Department. On a bittersweet note, Dr. Maria Rodriguez, the lead faculty for the Health Psychology programs, left the Department of Psychology in December 2020 to become the new Associate Director of Faculty Support and Development. Please join me in congratulating Maria. In addition, in December 2020, we were able to hire two additional full time faculty members, Dr. Madia Levin and Dr. Donna Smith. Dr. Levin started teaching at NCU in 2018. Her expertise is in Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Dr. Smith came to the Psychology Department in 2017 via the Ombuds program. Her main focus is teaching research courses and chairing dissertations. Both are very distinguished professors. Please join me in welcoming Dr. Madia Levin and Dr. Donna Smith. Let's now look forward to our plans for this year. Starting this month, we will revise the PhD specialization in Trauma and Disaster Relief. We still need content experts for this revision. If you are interested in working on any of the below-mentioned courses, please reach out to me or Dr. Yulia Watters at ywatters@ncu.edu. • PSY-8110 Psychology of Violence • PSY-8320 Psychology of Traumatic Stress • PSY-8322 Disaster, Terrorism, and Mass Violence: Impacts on Mental Health UPDATES Department 12