Katie McLaughlin, PhD, has been appointed as the first executive director of the new Ballmer Institute for Children's Behavioral Health at the University of Oregon in Portland, according to a Jan. 31 report from Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Dr. McLaughlin joins the Ballmer Institute from Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., where she serves as a professor of psychology and director of the stress and development laboratory.
The Ballmer Institute was funded by a $425 million donation from Steve and Connie Ballmer of Ballmer Group Philanthropy. It will offer the first undergraduate child behavioral health program of its kind in the country and expects to graduate 200 students annually once it's up and running, according to the OPB report.
The University of Oregon received state approval to create the bachelor's degree program in child behavioral health in December, according to a Jan. 31 report from KGW8.