Celebrating New Emeritus Faculty

 

Two long-time Arts and Science faculty, M. Donald Hancock, professor of political science, and William P. Smith, professor of psychology, received emeritus status during the May 2009 Commencement ceremonies. 

Hancock, who joined Vanderbilt in 1979, specializes in the politics of Western Europe and comparative European politics. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Austin and his master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University. He served as director of the Center for European Studies at Vanderbilt (now the Max Kade Center for European and German Studies) from 1981–2000. Hancock’s most recent book, Politics in Germany, was published in 2008.

Smith joined the College of Arts and Science in 1965 after teaching at Columbia University and San Diego State College. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Duke University, a master’s degree and doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and was later a National Institutes of Health postdoctoral fellow at Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Smith, who also served as associate dean and later, acting dean of the graduate school, is a widely respected scholar in social conflict, decision making, negotiation and social comparison.