by Andrew Christopher, STP President

January 3, 2026           

Dear STP Colleagues,

Welcome to 2026! I hope this letter finds you well and using the Holidays to recharge by spending time with family and friends.

When you think of great prognosticators, I bet names affiliated with science, such as Allan Lichtman or Benjamin Banneker, pop to mind. I would also bet that Joe Walsh -- a singer with the long-time rock-and-roll band the Eagles -- does not pop to mind. At the end of 2024, I had the privilege of seeing the Eagles perform live. During that concert, Walsh asked the audience if they were ready to leave 2024 and enter 2025. Of course, the crowd gave a perfunctory cheer. Walsh looked surprised by the cheering and responded by asking in a perplexed tone, “Oh really?” This question was followed by “Well, buckle up; 2025 is going to be a doozie.”

As we start 2026, with the benefit of hindsight, I doubt many if any of us would argue with Walsh’s prediction, even if he never operationally defined “doozie.” Indeed, 2025 brought us in secondary and higher education (and certainly elsewhere) not only a large quantity of undesirable stressors, but stressors some of us rarely if ever had to deal with previously. I would love to be able to tell you 2026 will be the year during which these undesirable stressors assuage and things get back to “normal.” I’ve been teaching since Summer 1995, the semester after my first year in graduate school. Ever since then -- and likely before that time -- it seems like we’ve been facing the “new normal.” Yet some way, somehow, we as teachers always manage to serve our students to the best of our ability. So too will it be in 2026.

If 2025 felt like you were wandering alone and lost in the desert, you ironically had a lot of company in that feeling. Of course, you are not alone – simply being a member of STP gives you a bounty of support, be it tangible resources to use in your teaching, informational support when you face a dilemma in your work, or, perhaps most importantly, belonging support that we all need to be healthy and happy. Use your affiliation with STP much like you would likely drink from an oasis in the desert. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with this organization and not only contribute to the work it is doing, but perhaps even more importantly, connect with colleagues who share your passion for teaching. STP offers all sorts of resources to help you keep your teaching fresh and engaging for your students and for you. This February 19th and 20th, you can connect with colleagues at the Virtual Conference on Teaching. On October 15-17, we will have our Annual Conference on Teaching in St. Louis. Our profession, especially during the past 5+ years, can easily be isolating. STP provides the perfect safeguard against feelings of isolation while enhancing what we all love to do – teach students.

As you know full well, there is a lot we as educators need to do right now. Then again, we as educators have always had a lot we’ve needed to do. Psychology teachers in particular have an opportunity – and perhaps even an obligation -- to help change many of the problems that the world is facing today and that are adding to our own angst. As Jane Halonen and her colleagues (2022) said, “Using psychology to foster positive change can be an exciting prospect for students” (p. 76). It is for me, too, and I bet it is for you as well. That quote hangs above my desk, so that on those days when I don’t feel at my best, which during 2025 was more often than I found acceptable, I can remind myself today is another opportunity to help students make a real difference in the world.

I am not sure whether to be more honored or humbled (or awed) at the opportunity of serving as your STP President this year. Maybe 2026 will provide a much-needed example of regression to the mean from 2025. All I know is that I can rely on you, my STP colleagues, as my personal oasis again this year, just as you have been for me since I was a graduate student at the University of Florida, then as a teacher at two liberal arts colleges – first at Anderson College (now Anderson University) and for the past 25 years at Albion College. Thank you! I hope I have and will continue to do the same for you. As we get ready to conquer 2026, let’s remember a piece of wisdom from another member of the Eagles, Don Henley: “It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you…” when you are involved in STP.

Let’s make it a great 2026,

Andrew Christopher

Read past letters from the STP President