Department of Psychology
Pryale Hall, Room 111
654 Pioneer Drive
Rochester,
MI
48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-2300
Fax: (248) 370-4612

Center for Evolutionary Psychological Science
The mission of the Center for Evolutionary Psychological Science (CEPS) at Oakland University (OU) is to promote and support evolutionary psychological research and education at OU, to recruit and retain outstanding evolutionary psychological scientists, to facilitate collaborative evolutionary psychological research projects, and to develop gift, grant, and contract support for evolutionary psychological science research programs, graduate and undergraduate training, as well as core facilities and equipment. The CEPS will provide opportunities for community engagement, professional development, and mechanisms by which to enhance student success and the research portfolio of OU faculty, undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral students.
Broader societal impact: With a focus on identifying how our evolutionary past shaped our modern psychology and behavior, evolutionary psychological science provides a framework for understanding and addressing social problems including crime, violence, war, racism, and domestic abuse, while also providing a framework for increasing societal and individual health and well-being. The CEPS will provide a centerpiece for leveraging knowledge about our evolutionary past to improving lives in the present and future.
Todd K. Shackelford, Founding Director (Distinguished Professor and Chair, Psychology, OU), 2020-Present
The Director is appointed by the CAS Dean for a term of five years and is responsible for leading the Center in all matters, including research, instruction, service, and community engagement.
- Promote collaborative evolutionary psychological research within and across colleges and schools at OU, and with faculty and students housed at other universities, nationally and internationally.
- Provide educational opportunities in evolutionary psychological science (e.g., weekend seminars, summer camps, academic minor, certificate program) for faculty, students, staff, and community members at OU, as well as nationally and internationally.
- Develop educational and financial partnerships with local and regional businesses (e.g., Reproductive Associates of Michigan).
- Develop educational and financial partnerships with scholarly publishers of academic journals and books (e.g., Oxford University Press, Springer Nature).
- Provide seed funding to support an initial phase of innovative research projects to increase the probability of external funding; separate funding mechanisms to support graduate student research and faculty research.
- Organize and host visits and lectures by distinguished evolutionary psychologists, intended for and open to broad audiences, including faculty, staff, and students at OU, and local and regional community colleges and universities, as well as community members.
- Organize and host bi-annual international and interdisciplinary conferences showcasing the intellectual value and promise of an evolutionary perspective on topics and themes of longstanding human interest, including death, sex, morality, psychopathology, and violence; conferences are two-day events featuring as panelists 10-15 leading scholars from around the world that begin with a keynote lecture open to a broad audience, including faculty, staff, and students at OU, and local and regional community colleges and universities, as well as community members (see oakland.edu/psychology/conference).
- Other activities that will help to enhance evolutionary psychological science.
Todd K. Shackelford, Founding Director (Distinguished Professor and Chair, Psychology, OU), 2021-2026
Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford (Special Lecturer, Psychology, OU), 2021-2026
Virgil Zeigler-Hill (Professor and Director of Graduate Training, Psychology, OU), 2021-2025
Melissa M. McDonald (Associate Professor, Psychology, OU), 2021-2024
Lisa L.M. Welling (Associate Professor, Psychology, OU), 2021-2024
Brandy A. Randall (Professor of Psychology, Dean of Graduate School, OU), 2021-2023
The Steering Committee members include the Director and 3-4 additional Oakland University faculty members. In addition, the Steering Committee will include one current OU administrator as ex officio member, appointed for a two-year term, renewable for no more than two terms. Steering Committee members are appointed by the Director for a term of five years, and advise the Director on all Center matters, including research, instruction, service, and community engagement.
Department of Psychology
- Martha Escobar, Professor
- Melissa M. McDonald, Associate Professor
- Todd K. Shackelford, Distinguished Professor and Chair
- Jennifer Vonk, Professor
- Viviana A. Weekes-Shackelford, Special Lecturer
- Lisa L.M. Welling, Associate Professor
- Virgil Zeigler-Hill, Professor and Director of Graduate Training
Department of Philosophy
- Paul Graves, Associate Professor
- John Halpin, Associate Professor
- Mark Rigstad, Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
- Scott Tiegs, Professor
- Fabia Ursula Battistuzzi, Associate Professor
Department of Linguistics
- Samuel Rosenthall, Associate Professor
Internal Advisory Board members include the Director and members of the Steering Committee, along with full-time or part-time faculty members affiliated with Oakland University. Internal Advisory Board members are appointed by the Director and advise the Director and Steering Committee on all Center matters as requested by the Director, including research, instruction, service, and community engagement.
Joshua Ackerman, University of Michigan, USA
Laith Al-Shawaf, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA
Jeanette Altarriba, University at Albany, USA
Kevin Beaver, Florida State University, USA
David Benatar, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Laura Betzig, University of Michigan, USA
David Bjorklund, Florida Atlantic University, USA
Brian Boutwell, University of Mississippi, USA
Sarah Brosnan, Georgia State University, USA
Kingsley Browne, Wayne State University, USA
Martin Brüne, Ruhr University Bochum, Germany
David Buss, University of Texas, USA
Joseph Carroll, University of Missouri—St. Louis, USA
Lei Chang, University of Macau, China
Jerry Coyne, University of Chicago, USA
A.J. Figueredo, University of Arizona, USA
Bernhard Fink, University of Vienna, Austria
David Geary, University of Missouri, USA
Mhairi Gibson, University of Bristol, UK
Eileen Hebets, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA
Leif Edward Ottesen Kennair, Norwegian University of Science & Technology, Norway
Douglas Kenrick, Arizona State University, USA
Daniel Kruger, University of Michigan, USA
Norman Li, Singapore Management University, Singapore
Dario Maestripieri, University of Chicago, USA
Jon Maner, Florida State University, USA
Rose McDermott, Brown University, USA
Randy Nesse, Arizona State University, USA
Michael Bang Petersen, Aarhus University, Denmark
Steven Pinker, Harvard University, USA
Stephanie Preston, University of Michigan, USA
David Puts, Pennsylvania State University, USA
James Roney, University of California—Santa Barbara, USA
Catherine Salmon, University of Redlands, USA
David Schmitt, Brunel University, UK
Cas Soper, Independent Scholar, Portugal
John Teehan, Hofstra University, USA
Randy Thornhill, University of New Mexico, USA
Paul Vasey, University of Lethbridge, Canada
Jerome Wakefield, New York University, USA
Katie Zejdlik, Western Carolina University, USA
External Advisory Board members include leading national and international scholars with expertise in evolutionary psychological science. External Advisory Board members are appointed by the Director and advise the Director and Steering Committee on all Center matters as requested by the Director, including research, instruction, service, and community engagement.