Angelo State University Psych Professor Elected President of Association

SAN ANGELO – Dr. Leslie Kelley of the Angelo State University psychology faculty has been elected president of the Southwestern Psychological Association (SWPA), the official American Psychological Association (APA) affiliate for the Southwestern Region of the U.S.

The Southwestern Region includes Texas, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Tennessee. Kelley will serve a three-year presidential term consisting of one year each as president-elect, president and past-president, beginning at the conclusion of the organization's annual convention to be held March 31 - April 2 in Frisco.

As president, Kelley will preside at all meetings of the SWPA Presidents Council and Executive Council, as well as the Annual Business Meeting, and exercise general supervision over the affairs of the SWPA. He has been involved in SWPA since 2012 and is currently finishing up a two-year term as a professional representative on the SWPA Executive Council.

"It's a great honor to be elected SWPA president," Kelley said. "The annual SWPA conference has long been a highlight of the academic year for me, beginning with workshops and posters as a graduate student, and then as a supervisor to graduate and undergraduate students. As a professor, it has been my privilege to provide guidance to the scholars of the future, watching the fire of learning begin to grow in their minds, leading then to understand, conduct and disseminate high-quality research. As SWPA president, I will emphasize ways to engage students in the research process and facilitate conference presentations among graduate and undergraduate students."

An ASU faculty member since 2020, Kelley is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology. He teaches undergraduate psychology courses, as well as courses in ASU's nationally recognized counseling psychology graduate program. He is also the co-author of two books:

• "Abnormal Psychology: Myths of 'Crazy'" (3rd Edition, 2020)
• "Foundations of Abnormality: Myths, Misconceptions, and Movies" (2018)

"Abnormal Psychology: Myths of 'Crazy'" is the primary textbook for ASU's upper-level abnormal psychology course.

In addition to his books, Kelley has been published in various professional journals, including the North American Journal of Psychology, Journal of Psychotherapy Integration, Educator Perspectives, Ethics and Behavior, and Teaching of Psychology. He has also made research presentations at over 30 professional conferences. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Franciscan University, as well as a master's degree and his doctorate in counseling psychology from Texas Woman's University.