Dr. Joseph Prus is not just the chair for the psychology department, he is also a friend, husband, father, role model and a support system for many.
After this semester, Prus will be stepping down from his position as the department head to retire. This is his 40th year working at Winthrop and his 15th being the chair.
Prus moved from his old job as a school psychologist for a school district in Kentucky to take an associate professor position at Winthrop in 1980. When he came to do an evaluation of Winthrop’s Human Development Center, prior to obtaining this job, he knew this was the place for him.
“I came here [and] I really liked the people here. They were very friendly [and I] really enjoyed my visit,” Prus said. “I was really impressed with the people and administration.”
Prus and his wife moved here to Winthrop when they both were hired by the university.
Since his time here, Prus has made a significant impact on the psychology department and Winthrop. He also has made numerous contributions to the world of psychology.
Prus was a director of the School Psychology Program for 27 years — while doing this the program saw an increase of 60 applicants a year.
He also worked with a former professor to help fashion a cooperative professional development program, CPD, with Winthrop and the South Carolina Association of School Psychologists.
Prus wrote the grant that established Winthrop’s Office of Assessment and was the director for 16 years. He has published and presented many works and has received four awards recognizing his leadership and impact.
Prus was also the chair for multiple national organizations and created the Psychology Student Organization & Support Committee, where students can provide feedback on things pertaining to the department.
Prus has built Winthrop’s psychology department to become a nationally recognized program which draws applicants from all over the country because of its success.
Part of his successful resume is the quality of his leadership, his humble demeanor and the support he gives to the students and faculty in the department. Despite his long list of accomplishments, his biggest concern is how he impacted the people he works with.
“I think if you are a professor, [the biggest accomplishment] comes from what students go on to do,” he said. “One of the things I would say with students is even when I had to deal with difficult situations with students … I like to think that every student would feel like I tried to do my best to support them. I also would say the same thing for faculty.”
Part of the psychology department’s success is because of Prus’s ability to bring people and faculty members together. This does not go unnoticed.
“He has this touch and is the whisperer of pulling people together [to] collaborate [and] connect,” Dr. Gary Alderman, director of Winthrop’s psychology graduate program and friend of Prus, said. “He has always been an artist at making sure that [he helps] faculty with their teaching, making sure their load is reasonable [and] being flexible with their own schedule.”
Prus has become a role model to Alderman in his leadership and feels that there are not enough words to describe the significance he has made for Winthrop and himself personally.
“He has helped me develop as a faculty member through just his example. He has always been one who seeks input about what we are doing,” Alderman said. “He operates on that basis which is a great model for me. He taught me to listen to students. To me he is the epitome, the model of a way an administrator should be.”
To emphasize the love he has for this program and job, Prus is doing something different for his retirement party.
“Even as we are planning his retirement he doesn’t want it to be about him. He asked that for the people [invited he] would like to send an email out to all of [them] and ask them to contribute to the school psychology fund,” Alderman said. “[He said] if my retirement can have an impact on building that then that would be the thing [he] would wish the most. That is epitome to who he is.”
In Prus’s retirement, he hopes to spend more time with his wife, three grandkids and two daughters. He also plans to golf more and travel with his wife.
Photo: Savannah Scott/ The Johnsonian
