Get to know the new chair of the psychology department, Mike Young

In August 2016 Professor of Psychology Michael Young became the new chair of the Department of Psychology. Joining the Illinois Tech faculty in 1996, Mike previously served as director of the clinical psychology program in the department. Learn about Mike’s career at Illinois Tech and his vision for the department.

LCHS: You are celebrating your 20th anniversary at Illinois Tech this year. Tell us about your path to the university and your career thus far.

MY: Prior to coming to Illinois Tech, I was a clinical psychology researcher at several medical centers.  When my son was young, I volunteered as one of his Little League coaches for many years and from that l learned how much I enjoyed teaching. Illinois Tech’s psychology department had a good reputation and I was excited to join the faculty.

Working as a psychology researcher in a medical center is very different from working in a university setting. I’ve found it very rewarding to work in an environment where everyone speaks about psychology using psychology concepts and terms—I’ve enjoyed being able to go to my psychological roots and earlier education and use those ideas on a daily basis in my teaching, research, and interactions with colleagues and students.

Prior to my new role as chair, I served as the director of the clinical psychology program. As the director, I oversaw the administrative aspects of the program including graduate admissions and the program’s accreditation process. 

LCHS: Tell us about your area of research. How did you end up in the field of clinical psychology and what do you find most exciting about this field?

MY: I was a Sputnik baby, so science and math were always interests of mine. I went to college with the intention of studying physics and math, but changed my major to psychology after my first year. Psychology was appealing to me because it was a different type of science. I had gone to college ready to study the behavior of neutrinos, but ended up studying the behavior of people.

My research focuses on depression, specifically examining seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I am interested in understanding the emotional regulation and cognitive factors that contributed to SAD.  Most of the research on SAD focuses on the biological factors that cause the disorder, but there are psychological factors that also contribute to SAD, just like other forms of depression.  I am one of the few people in the country who is studying SAD from the psychological perspective. I find the interaction between the biological and the psychological very interesting and, in my mind, where the real cutting edge is. 

LCHS: You have a long history at Illinois Tech and have seen many changes in psychology over the years. What are some of the things you look forward to accomplishing in your role as chair and what is your vision for the department?

MY: One of my goals is to raise the visibility of the department nationally. There are so many great things happening with our research and education. We have a very good reputation in the psychology community among those who already know our faculty and students, but we are less-known in general. 

To help raise awareness of our research and programs, I plan to continue supporting faculty activities and research.  Publishing, presenting, and promoting our cutting-edge research will help build awareness of our department. Another way I want to build our reputation is by finding ways to fund travel expenses for more of our students to attend conferences. It is a great way for our students to present their work, share their experience at Illinois Tech, and network with researchers in their selected fields.

Our undergraduate program has made significant progress over the years in designing the best curriculum possible for Illinois Tech psychology students. Our undergraduate and graduate programs are based on the scientist/practitioner model, which is a great fit for students interested in the application of psychology and science. At Illinois Tech, our students develop skills in both research methods and the application of psychology. I want to help continue this momentum forward and find ways to grow our undergraduate enrollment with targeted marketing and recruiting strategies.

LCHS: When you’re not on campus, what do you do for fun?

MY: For the past 20 years, I’ve been a homebrewer and I currently serve as the treasurer for the Oak Park Homebrewers Club. We meet monthly to share the beers we’ve brewed and offer feedback on how different recipes can be improved.  I’m also a big White Sox and Bears fan and enjoy going to the opera. My wife and I have three children and three grandchildren, but they all live on the East coast.

To learn more about the department, visit the Department of Psychology website.