Faculty Profile
Dr. Richard Goffin
Contact Information:
goffin@uwo.ca
519-661-2111 x84641
SSC 8406
Research Areas
Profile
I was born in St. Catharines, Ontario. Aside from loud music and tennis, higher education was just about the only thing that interested me after graduating from high school. I eventually gravitated to the area of industrial/organizational psychology because I enjoyed science but also felt the need to do something very practical. Perhaps the lumber baron, tool designer, dentist, and nursing instructor in my gene pool contributed to my vocational interests.I have had the good fortune to be trained by some truly outstanding scholars. Dr. Roland Chrisjohn piqued my interest in quantitative and measurement psychology during my master’s studies. During my doctoral training, Dr. Douglas Jackson further developed my appreciation of psychological measurement, cultured my interest in industrial/organizational psychology, and provided a scientist/practitioner role model without equal.
Prior to becoming a professor, I was an industrial/organizational specialist in the Personnel Psychology Centre of the Public Service Commission of Canada and at the Human Resources Branch of the Canada Revenue Agency. My duties in these positions included the investigation of diversity issues in personnel selection, development and validation of various personnel selection devices, and the design and management of job analysis projects. Also, I have undertaken a number of consulting projects with private and public sector organizations and have been successful in authoring and co-authoring many peer-reviewed journal articles based on the data collected from these real-world experiences.
Some of my finest moments come from seeing my graduate students (past and present) achieve important things in their lives. Most of them have gone on to become professors or senior consultants. I am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with them. Some of my other finest moments come from experiencing great live music with family and friends, and doing battle with the evil forces of aging by trying to stay fit.
