Published: Sep 28, 2005
Dr. Joseph D. Sclafani began the new academic year as dean of The University
of Tampa’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Formerly an associate
dean at the college, Sclafani filled the vacancy left by former dean Jeffrey
Klepfer, who returned to his position as an associate professor of
psychology.
“I am excited to have the opportunity to play a leadership
role in the college, and happy to be in the position of working with a talented
team of higher education professionals,” Sclafani said. “We have assembled a
very talented faculty who are student-centered and dedicated to the liberal arts
mission. I believe we have the potential to make a difference in the lives of
our students. Our goals for the upcoming years are a great roadmap to bring the
college and its programs to the next level.”
Beginning in 2002, Sclafani
directed the University’s successful bid for decennial re-accreditation by the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, the region’s most revered
accrediting body. Last year, he published a book, The Educated Parent (Greenwood
Publishing Group). Last spring, he served as interim chair in the Department of
Psychology.
Sclafani is a tenured associate professor of psychology, and
became an associate dean at the college in 1998. He began his UT career in 1987,
and since then has been the recipient of professional and educational awards
including an Outstanding Service award in 1996, Outstanding Contribution to
Student Life in 1998, and the 2000-01 Louise Loy Hunter Award for Outstanding
Faculty, awarded annually to one UT faculty member for cumulative contributions
in teaching, service and scholarship.
As a clinical psychologist,
Sclafani is deeply enmeshed in the study and teaching of child psychology. His
research involves the success of personality tests in predicting the outcomes of
child custody disputes. He also is an expert on the effects of the initial
attachment between caregiver and child. He has considerable experience testing
for learning disorders and for giftedness in children, and has served as an
expert witness.
In private practice, Sclafani worked as an outpatient
therapist and trainer of interns at Northside Centers Inc., and for a decade was
co-owner of the Brandon Center for Family Therapy, which provided psychotherapy
services for families, couples, step-families and individuals, child custody
court evaluations, and psycho-educational testing services.
Sclafani
earned his BA, MA and Ph.D. at the University of South Florida. His professional
memberships include the American Psychological Association and the American
Association of Behavioral and Social Sciences. Past memberships have included
the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, American
Orthopsychiatric Association, Society for Research in Child Development,
American Psychological Society, and the Hillsborough County Bar Association
Interdisciplinary Committee on Family Law.
For more information, contact
the Office of Public Information at publicinfo@ut.edu or (813) 253-6232.