Martin Kivlighan, associate professor of counseling psychology, is the new  Departmental Executive Officer (DEO) of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations beginning July 1, 2023. 

"Martin has served in a number of different service and leadership roles in the college and the University of Iowa," says UI College of Education Dean Dan Clay. " I am thankful for his interest in serving the college in this leadership position and fully confident in him as the next DEO of the Department of Psychological and Quantitative Foundations."

Kivlighan worked with Saba Ali, then-interim DEO, counseling psychology professor and associate research dean, to ensure a smooth transition.

“Our department has benefitted from strong leadership, and I am excited to build upon this foundation to continue supporting faculty and student success,” says Kivlighan, now a full professor.

After earning his doctorate in counseling psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2015 and completing his pre-doctoral internship at the University of Maryland Counseling Center, Kivlighan joined the counseling psychology faculty at the University of Iowa College of Education in 2015.

His research interests are in psychotherapy process and outcome of individual and group-based treatments with an aim of enhancing the effectiveness of mental health treatments, particularly for marginalized groups.

In 2018, Kivlighan was awarded a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health to increase doctoral training in integrative behavioral health care, substance use prevention, and treatment, and telepsychology. As part of this grant, he serves as the co-director of the Telepsychology Training Clinic (TPTC) housed in the College of Education.

The TPTC is a community-based training clinic that provides free and accessible mental health services to underserved and underinsured Iowans across the state. Kivlighan is a licensed psychologist in the state of Iowa and affiliated faculty in the UI Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics, where he conducts research as part of the Psychosocial Oncology Program at the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is currently accepting doctoral students for the upcoming academic year.

Clay credits Ali for providing strong transitional leadership since August of 2022, when she was tapped for the interim DEO role when outgoing P & Q DEO, Megan Foley Nicpon, became the new director of the Belin-Blank Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development.

Kivlighan says he looks forward to building on the many strengths of the diverse academic programs within the department and continuing to support faculty and student success. 

 "As DEO, I hope to continue to further the positive culture of our department and foster collaborations and relationships across programs of study and within the larger college," says Kivlighan.