Robert DeRubeis: Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences

Professor of Psychology Robert DeRubeis has been named the Samuel H. Preston Term Professor in the Social Sciences in the School of Arts and Sciences. Dr. DeRubeis specializes in the study of abnormal behavior. His research focuses on the processes that cause and maintain mood disorders, as well as the treatments that reduce and prevent the return of mood symptoms. His work and the results of his clinical trials have been extensively published in numerous scholarly journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, the Archives of General Psychiatry, the British Journal of Psychiatry, and Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

Dr. DeRubeis received his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin, and his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Minnesota. He was chair of the psychology department at Penn from 2001 to 2005 and then associate dean for the social sciences in the School from 2005 to 2009. He holds a secondary appointment in the Graduate School of Education. Dr. DeRubeis has received the Academy of Cognitive Therapy’s Aaron T. Beck Award for his contributions to research on cognitive therapy. His empirical research comparing the benefits of cognitive therapy and medications for severe depression has been the subject of national and international media reports.

The Samuel H. Preston Endowed Term Chair in the Social Sciences was created through the generosity of the Board of Overseers of the School of Arts and Sciences to honor Dr. Preston’s service as the School’s former dean. Under his leadership, SAS pursued a strategic plan focused on faculty development, undergraduate education and selective investment in core academic programs.