Karen Bierman named McCourtney Professor of Child Studies

Distinguished Professor of Psychology and Human Development and Family Studies Karen Bierman has been named the first McCourtney Professor of Child Studies in recognition of exceptional scholarship and service.

The McCourtney Professorship is generously funded by Tracy and Ted McCourtney. Tracy graduated from Penn State with an English degree in 1965 and has assisted foster children and families in New York City as a social worker. A 1960 graduate of Notre Dame in engineering, Ted served four years in the U.S. Navy and then earned an MBA from Harvard in 1966. The McCourtneys were named Penn State's Philanthropists of the Year in 2013.

The McCourtneys have been generous friends of the College of the Liberal Arts for more than twenty years. Their previous support of Psychology includes a major gift for the Moore Building Project and the Early Career Professorship, currently held by Koraly Perez-Edgar.