2023 RICHARD C. TEES DISTINGUISHED LEADERSHIP AWARD WINNER: DR. WILLIAM (BILL) HOCKLEY

The following is excerpted from the letter Pelin Tanberg and Dr. Tyler Ensor wrote in support of Dr. Hockley’s nomination for the Richard C. Tees Distinguished Leadership Award

Dr. Hockley is a nationwide recognized leading researcher in the field of human cognition and memory. In a career spanning more than four decades, Dr. Hockley has made numerous important contributions to our field and supervised 5 PhD students, 10 Master’s students, and 48 Honours students.

Dr. Hockley earned his Honours Bachelor of Arts degree in 1973 from Queen’s University. He then moved to the University of Toronto for graduate school, where he worked with Dr. Bennett B. Murdock, Jr., on the topic of memory. Since then, his contributions to academic research include more than 70 articles in top journals, over 100 conference presentations, and nine book chapters in high-profile edited volumes. In addition to his research career, Dr. Hockley was instrumental in establishing undergraduate and graduate training in cognitive psychology at Wilfrid Laurier University, ultimately paving the way for the Laurier Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience program.

Dr. Hockley’s research program focuses on human memory, associative learning, intentional forgetting, context-dependent memory, the picture superiority effect, and the mirror effect. His research program at Wilfrid Laurier University has been uninterruptedly supported by NSERC since 1990. As highlighted in the general overview, he has published several articles in different top-tier journals. Dr. Hockley has also been named a Fellow in several societies inv recognition of his contributions and dedication to the discipline of human cognition.

Dr. Hockley served as the President of the CSBBCS from 2018-2020, Member-at-Large of CSBBCS from 2007-2009, and has served as editorial board member for several journals, including Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology, Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, and Memory & Cognition. He has been honoured as a fellow of the American Psychological Association in 2006, a fellow of the Psychonomic Society in 2014, a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science in 2015, and was an inaugural fellow of the CSBBCS in 2017. He has also served on Executive committees of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. Hockley served as the Consulting Editor of Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology from 2009-2012. In addition, Dr. Hockley frequently supported his students to submit to CJEP. One of his recent articles in CJEP was awarded the CJEP Best Article Award for 2020 (Ensor et al., 2020) and another recent article in CJEP was featured in Psynopsis: Canada’s Psychology Magazine, Volume 43(2), 2021, p.30. He has been a strong contributor and supporter of Canadian journals of psychology.

In summary, Dr. Hockley is extremely deserving of this award. Dr. Hockley is an exceptionally welcoming mentor who always has his door open for colleagues, students, and researchers around the country, and worldwide. Overall, Dr. Hockley’s dedication to the Society, significant contributions to the field, and wholehearted leadership and dedication to his students are very deserving of recognition by the Richard Tees Distinguished Leadership Award.