Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology
Director of the Life Paths Appalachian Research Center
B.S., M.A., College of William and Mary; Ph.D., University of North Carolina
Sherry Hamby has taught at Sewanee since 2008. She is a Distinguished Research Professor of Psychology at the University of the South and Director of the Life Paths Research Center.
She is also Founder and Co-chair of ResilienceCon and was the Founding Editor of the APA journal, Psychology of Violence. Dr. Hamby is an internationally recognized authority on victimization and trauma who is best known for her work in poly-victimization, resilience, and violence measurement. A clinical psychologist by training, Dr. Hamby has worked for more than 25 years on the problem of violence, including front-line crisis intervention and treatment, involvement in grassroots organizations, and research leading to the publication of more than 200 articles and books. An influential researcher, she has been ranked in the top 1% among more than 6 million researchers in 22 disciplines based on citations to her work (Ioannidis et al., 2020).
Her awards include Outstanding Contributions to the Science of Trauma Psychology from the American Psychological Association (APA). Dr. Hamby’s work has appeared in the New York Times, Huffington Post, CBS News, Psychology Today, and hundreds of other media outlets. Her newest book, with Victoria Banyard, is Strengths-Based Prevention: Reducing Violence & Other Public Health Problems (APA Books, 2022).
In addition to teaching Psychology of Gender, Psychology of Violence, or special topics courses, Dr. Hamby has a particular love of mentoring Sewanee students in research. More than 40 current or former Sewanee students have worked on research projects with Dr. Hamby, leading to numerous conference presentations and publications. Many of these students have gone onto graduate school, several with full tuition support and assistantships. If you are interested in getting research experience in resilience, feel free to email her at sherry.hamby@sewanee.edu.
Dr. Hamby lives in Sewanee, TN with her husband, Dr. Bardi (also in the Psychology Department). Their two children are now in college, but their dog keeps them company.
Dr. Hamby's TEDx talk: Trauma Is Everywhere But So Is Resilience
