Shaun Vecera graduated from the University of Oregon before moving to Carnegie Mellon University, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1995. He has been a professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at the University of Iowa since 1998 and became director of the University Honors Program in 2021. Professor Vecera studies visual attention and cognition and is the author of more than 90 journal articles, book chapters, and other publications on his research. Current research in his lab is exploring the role of learning and experience on attentional control.

In addition to his research, Professor Vecera is very involved with and committed to undergraduate education and student success. In addition to his role in the Honors Program, he is leading the development of a campus-wide learning framework for undergraduate students. From 2016-2021, he held the Herman J. and Eileen S. Schmidt Chair for leadership in undergraduate education, and he received the 2017-18 President and Provost Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence. He has also been recognized with the Honors Program Teaching Award in 2019 and the inaugural Award for Outstanding First-Generation Student Advocacy in 2019. He serves on several university committees that support undergraduate student success. Professor Vecera teaches classes of all sizes, including an honors first-year seminar titled How Psychology Can Save the Planet.

Ask Me About:

• Being a first-generation college student

• Undergraduate research

• Honors in the major

• My favorite tree on campus and why everyone should have one

• How to learn just about anything