College of Arts and Sciences Dean and Professor of Psychology at Gonzaga University
About
Dr. Annmarie Caño is a professor of psychology and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Gonzaga University. Dr. Caño's research has focused on the role of empathy and perspective-taking on individual and relationship well-being for a variety of dyads, including couples facing chronic illness, parents and children with illness, and also adjudicated adolescents. She has over 70 publications and has served as PI on grants from NIMH, NICHD, and NCCIH. In recognition of her research contributions, she was elected in 2016 as a fellow of the American Psychological Association in Divisions 38 (Society for Health Psychology) and 43 (Society for Couple and Family Psychology).
Dr. Caño's administrative work has included recruitment and retention efforts to prepare students and faculty from diverse backgrounds for academic, professional, and personal success. To this end, Dr. Caño has conducted research on holistic review in graduate admissions and launched a competency-based professional development initiative that uses micro-credentials to recognize graduate students' achievements. She was co-PI of Wayne State University's chapter of the NSF-funded Michigan Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), which was aimed at enhancing the numbers of minoritized doctoral students who enter the professoriate.
Dr. Caño is a first-generation college student and a Latina who credits her success to her parents' steadfast belief in the power of education. She earned her master's and doctoral degrees in psychology from Stony Brook University and her bachelor's degree in psychology from Princeton University.
Current Work:
Dr. Caño conducts research on biases that affect graduate admissions decision-making with the goal of developing interventions to ensure equitable access to graduate education and the professoriate. To this end, she examines information that faculty members use to write letters of recommendation and make admissions decisions including standardized test scores and applicants' demographic characteristics. She is also investigating predictors of dissertation writing success among students who are underrepresented in their fields.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Holistic admissions; graduate admissions; in-group bias; empathy; first-generation college students
