Richard Ryan Faculty BiographyAugust 9, 2015 by Shannon

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RRich copyichard M. Ryan, Ph.D., is a Professor at the Institute for Positive Psychology & Education at Australian Catholic University, North Sydney and Professor Emeritus in Psychology at the University of Rochester. Ryan is a clinical psychologist and co-developer of Self-Determination Theory, one of the leading theories of human motivation.

Ryan is among the most cited researchers in psychology and social sciences today and the author of over 450 papers and books in the areas of human motivation, personality, and psychological well-being. He lectures frequently around the world on the on the factors that promote motivation and healthy psychological and behavioral functioning, applied to such areas as work and organizations, education, health, sport and exercise, video games, and virtual environments. Reflective of Ryan’s influence internationally and across disciplines, he has been recognized as one of the eminent psychologists of the modern era, listed among the Top 20 most influential industrial-organizational psychologists, and been honored with many distinguished career awards.

Ryan is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and an Honorary Member of the German Psychological Society (DGP). He has held numerous editorial posts, including having been Editor-in-Chief of Motivation & Emotion. He has also been a James McKeen Cattell and Leverhulme Fellow, and a visiting scientist at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, the University of Bath, UK, and the Max Planck Institute, Berlin.