Fitzgerald, Hiram E. Ph.D.

Dr. Hiram E Fitzgerald is University Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology, Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement at Michigan State University, and adjunct university distinguished professor in Human Development and Family Studies. Dr. Fitzgerald received his BA degree in psychology from Lebanon Valley College (1962), the MA degree in experimental psychology (1964) and the Ph.D. degree in developmental psychology (1967) from the University of Denver.  He is president of the Engagement Scholarship Consortium, a member of the Board of Directors of the Academy of Community Engagement Scholarship and the Transformative Regional Engagement Networks, is co-chair of the Committee on Institutional Cooperation’s Committee on Engagement, a past member of the Association for Public and Land Grant Universities’ Council on Engagement’s Executive Committee’s  Board of Directors. 

Fitzgerald is past president and executive director of both the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health and the International Association for Infant Mental Health, and served as executive director of the World Association for Infant Mental Health from 1992-2008.  He has been associated with the Michigan Longitudinal Study of Family Risk for Alcoholism over the Life Course for 26 years; the Early Head Start National Research Consortium, the American Indian/Alaska Native Head Start Research Center, the Native Children’s Research Exchange, and the Tribal Early Childhood Research Center at the University of Colorado, Denver;  the MSU Wiba Anung EHS/HS research team monitoring work force development and early childhood education in partnership with the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, and  is a member of a variety of interdisciplinary research teams focusing on evaluation of community-based early preventive-intervention efforts in Michigan. 

Fitzgerald’s major areas of  research include the study of infant and family development in community contexts, the impact of fathers on early child development, implementation of systemic community models of organizational process and change, the etiology of alcoholism, and broad issues related to the scholarship of engagement.  He has published over 500 journal articles, chapters, books, technical reports, and peer-reviewed abstracts.  He is Editor-in-Chief of the Infant Mental Health Journal, Assistant editor of Perspectives in Infant Mental Health, and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Higher Education, Outreach and Engagement and the Journal of Community Engagement Scholarship.  He is senior editor of the two volume Handbook of Community Engagement and Going Public: Civic and Community Engagement. 

He has received numerous awards, including the ZERO TO THREE Dolley Madison Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to the Development and Well Being of Very Young Children, the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health Selma Fraiberg Award, and the designation of Honorary President from the World Association for Infant Mental Health.  He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (Divisions 7, 34, 37) and the Association of Psychological Science.