Kristin Valentino, a University of Notre Dame professor of psychology and director of the Shaw Center for Children and Families, has been named the inaugural director of the Veldman Family Psychology Clinic, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

A renowned researcher and skilled administrator, Valentino will lead the strategic vision of the center — fostering a culture that integrates research and clinical practice to benefit both areas — and cultivate key community partnerships. The Wilma and Peter Veldman Family Psychology Clinic, scheduled to open in 2026 in South Bend’s East Bank neighborhood, will bring together faculty experts focused on developing innovative methods for the prevention and treatment of mental health issues and on informing the practice of clinical care across the nation.

Uniting the work of the Shaw Center with new research on substance use and other developing areas, the clinic will foster collaboration among experts focused on evidence-based treatments to mental health issues that can improve lives in the South Bend community and across the country.

Valentino, whose research focuses on how adversity affects child development and how caregiving behaviors impact families, has led the Shaw Center since 2019.

Laura Miller-Graff, a professor of psychology and peace studies and a leading scholar examining the developmental and intergenerational effects of exposure to violence in childhood, has been named the new director of the Shaw Center. She will have strategic, administrative, budgetary, and logistical oversight over the center's research activities, training programs, and community outreach efforts.

Since joining the Notre Dame faculty in 2013, Laura has been an integral contributor to the work of the Shaw Center, and she is a a core faculty member of the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

Originally published by College of Arts & Letters at shaw.nd.edu on December 16, 2024.