Claremont, Calif. (February 27, 2012) — Pitzer College alumna Valerie Havill ’81 has been elected president of the Society for Cross-Cultural Research. The Society for Cross-Cultural Research is an international, multidisciplinary organization with members who share a passion for cross-cultural research and hale from many disciplines, including psychology, anthropology and sociology.
Havill, a Gainesville State College associate professor of psychology, said she was introduced to cross-cultural research during her undergraduate years at Pitzer by Professor of Psychology Ruth H. Munroe and Research Professor of Anthropology Robert (Lee) Munroe. The Munroes stayed in touch with Havill after she left for graduate school and consulted with her when she managed a National Institute of Mental Health-funded international study about children and personality development.
“While Valerie was at Pitzer, she took the course Socialization and Personality in Cross-Cultural Perspective, taught jointly by Ruth Munroe and me,” said Lee Munroe. “I like to think that the course helped nourish Valerie’s interest in the cross-cultural research she has conducted so successfully throughout her career.”
Havill earned her PhD in life-span developmental psychology at the University of Georgia. Her research interests include cross-cultural human development and personality development.
Havill majored in psychology at Pitzer College.
