After nearly three decades at the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø (ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø), , professor in the at the (COPH), will retire Aug. 13 after a career dedicated to teaching, research and advancing quantitative methods across the health sciences.
An experimental psychologist by training, Beckstead earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Oklahoma before completing his doctorate in experimental psychology at the State University of New York at Albany in 1990. He later completed a postdoctoral research position at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he specialized in applying experimental design and quantitative methods to social and behavioral research.
Beckstead joined ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø in 1998 as a faculty member in the , where he taught doctoral-level statistics and quantitative methods. In 2017, he transitioned to the COPH after conversations with then dean, , recognizing that his expertise in quantitative methods and study design aligned well with the college's growing research and educational mission.
"Since then, I have taught statistical methods in the master's and doctoral programs," Beckstead said. "I have also collaborated with many talented colleagues on research projects."
Throughout his career, Beckstead built a reputation for expertise in judgment and decision-making, measurement and quantitative methods.
His early research examined how people form judgments about the use of animals in biomedical and behavioral research before expanding into studies of how health care professionals make clinical judgments and decisions. As his work evolved, he embraced new analytical approaches, incorporating epidemiologic methods alongside the statistical techniques he first learned in psychology.
Beyond the classroom, Beckstead became a trusted collaborator and mentor for faculty and graduate students across the college. He served on numerous thesis and dissertation committees, working closely with faculty members including Drs. and while helping students strengthen the quantitative foundations of their research.
"Through these experiences I have learned a lot about public health topics including HPV, vaccines and air quality monitoring," he said.
He also partnered with and her research team, applying social marketing concepts to projects focused on reducing motor vehicle crashes.
Among his many scholarly contributions, Beckstead said he is most proud of two publications that advanced understanding in decision science.
The first, "," introduced a theoretical model for studying clinical judgment and decision-making. The second, "," applied information theory to better understand how people perceive patterns in sequences.
He noted that the latter was especially meaningful because it appeared in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, the oldest scientific journal in the field of psychology.
In addition to his teaching and research, Beckstead has served as statistical editor for the International Journal of Nursing Studies, contributing his quantitative expertise to one of the field's leading scholarly journals.
As he closes this chapter, Beckstead said he is looking forward to something academia rarely allows: setting his own schedule.
"After a career in academia, where my time has been scheduled by the semester, I am looking forward to setting my own schedule," he said. "I have been studying classical guitar for a few years and want to devote more time to this fulfilling hobby."
While Beckstead is retiring from the classroom, his impact will continue through the students he mentored, the colleagues he collaborated with and the quantitative expertise he shared across and the broader scientific community.