Paula Hertel, Ph.D.

Professor Hertel retired in 2024, although she occasionally teaches a class on principles of learning because she believes that the course is important. Her service to Trinity University includes Chair of the Faculty Senate. In that role, and as a member of the Senate, she created a long-standing 5-year policy for academic leaves, redesigned the structures of the University Curriculum Council and the Faculty Development Committee, and led a major reform for student evaluations of courses and faculty. Her extensive empirical research on cognitive and memorial functions in affective disorders is well known in the US and internationally and is published in the most selective outlets, where she has, independently, served in various editorial positions.

Professional Achievements and Contributions

• Brought a cognitive procedural approach to investigations of affective disorders.
• Established (as EIC) the Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition as a major outlet.
• Taught students by applying empirical principles of learning and memory.
• Tried hard to avoid self-aggrandizement and almost always spoke truth to power.