The University of the West Indies, Mona is pleased to announce the promotion of Senior Lecturer in the Psychology Unit of the Department of Sociology, Psychology & Social Work, Faculty of Social Sciences to the rank of Professor.

Garth Lipps holds the Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree in Psychology from Simon Fraser University (1984), the Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology from the University of New Brunswick (1986) and the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Applied Social Psychology from the University of Saskatchewan, (1994) in Canada.

 Dr. Lipps joined the staff of The UWI, Mona in 2003 as Lecturer in the Department of Sociology, Psychology & Social Work, with the ability to teach across the clinical and applied psychology programmes. He was promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer in 2010 and was awarded tenure in 2013. His strong training in statistics and psychometrics and experience as a statistician and programme evaluation specialist were very useful to the wider Department, particularly in its graduate Sociology and Human Resource Development programmes.

Garth Lipps has an impressive research and publications record, with substantial cross-faculty collaborations. His research agenda has focused primarily on depressive symptoms among children, adolescents and adults in the Caribbean, and adults with chronic diseases including HIV. This is an area of Caribbean life that had not been widely studied so that his findings have been useful for policy development. His research has focused on family, school and personal factors that contribute to the health and well-being of Caribbean populations. In particular, Dr Lipps has outlined valuable information on parenting styles across the region and the impact of authoritarian and neglectful parenting practices in Caribbean cultural communities. He has also examined the impact that high stakes competency examinations required for entry to high schools have on children’s, parents’ and teachers’ depressive symptoms and anxiety.

Dr. Lipps has demonstrated committed service to the Department and the University. He is a member of the University Senate, sits on the Academic Board and the Finance & General Purposes Committee, Mona as well as on the Campus Academic Quality Assurance Committee.  He also serves as Associate Dean for Teaching and Learning in the Faculty of Social Sciences. Since joining the staff of The UWI, Mona, Dr Lipps has developed seven new courses, each focused on teaching students the theoretical and practical knowledge needed for careers in Applied Psychology, Programme Evaluation and Sociology, as well as serving to increase the research and professional abilities of students. 

Dr. Lipps also has a record of public service, including assistance to the Government of Jamaica with assessing programme implementation strategies and conducting needs assessments, as well as the provision of training in psychological assessment and career testing.  He further co-developed an innovative method of developing programme evaluation skills in Non-Governmental Organizations which leveraged faculty skills via student practica placements.

He serves as a member of the Editorial Board of the International Psychology Bulletin, and a reviewer for a number of journals such as the British Journal of Educational Psychology , the Journal of Black Psychology,  the , Journal of Early Adolescence, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, West Indian Medical Journal and the Educational Quarterly Review.