Alexandra Loukas has been appointed interim associate dean for research and graduate studies, effective June 1. Loukas is the Barbie M. and Gary L. Coleman Professor in Education and is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education. She directs the Health Behavior and Education program area in the department.
“Dr. Loukas’ extensive research and academic leadership background make her an ideal candidate to provide leadership for the college as we work to strengthen the research and outreach enterprise and refocus our efforts to develop and support graduate students. This portfolio area is very important to the future of the college, and I’m grateful to Dr. Loukas for agreeing to serve in this role on an interim basis,” says Charles R. Martinez, Jr., dean of the College of Education.
The position is currently held by Tasha Beretvas, John L. and Elizabeth G. Hill Centennial Professor in the Quantitative Methods program in the Department of Educational Psychology. Beretvas has been appointed senior vice provost for faculty affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, effective June 1.
Loukas currently serves on the university’s Institutional Review Board and has served on its Research Policy, Health in Society Major Development, and Responsibilities, Rights, and Welfare of Graduate Student Academic Employees Committees.
Loukas’s research focuses on adolescent and young adult problem behavior development, and tobacco use and cessation. She has a special interest in examining how factors from multiple ecological levels, such as family, school, culture, interact to protect youth from negative health outcomes. Loukas is currently funded by the FDA/NIH to examine the use of alternative tobacco products by young adults. She is also funded by the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program at the Texas Department of State Health Services to conduct a variety of community-based program development and evaluation projects.
Loukas holds a Ph.D. and a master of arts, both in developmental psychology, from Michigan State University, and a bachelor of arts in honors psychology from the University of Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
