Washington National Primate Research Center Director, Dr. Deborah Fuller today welcomed Dr. Matthew Novak as the new Associate Director of Global Conservation, Education and Outreach. He will be replacing Dr. Randall Kyes, who is retiring from the post at the end of this year.
Dr. Novak is currently a professor of psychology at Central Oregon Community College (COCC). His connections with WaNPRC and the University of Washington go back to the 1990s when he was a student. He was one of the first two American students to participate in Kyes’ Indonesian Field Study Program. He has since returned several times as a guest instructor.
“Matthew will be able to step into the role with a deep appreciation for the strong foundation of global outreach and education in nonhuman primates that Dr. Kyes established,” said Director Fuller. “He has an exciting new vision for expanding the Unit to include new outreach domestically, and we are changing the name of the Unit to Global Programs to reflect this vision. We are fortunate to have him join our team and I’m looking forward to seeing where he takes the unit next.”
In addition to his PhD in Developmental Psychology, Novak is the past president of the American Society of Primatologists and has published on primate topics such as the late-life health impacts of early-life adversity, and studied the impacts of environmental changes on primates in Indonesia.
“The conservation, education and outreach efforts performed and organized by Dr. Randy Kyes over the last 3 plus decades is some of the absolute best work in these areas that has ever been done,” Dr. Novak said. “The importance of his bottom-up approach to building long-term relationships to support the work of the center cannot be emphasized enough. Therefore, I am humbled and honored to be chosen as the next person to lead this effort, on behalf of the primate center. Thank you, Randy, for setting the stage for this next chapter! And to those who know him, you are aware I have impossibly large shoes to fill. I hope everyone will join me and the rest of us in the Global Programs Unit, as we work together to continue his great legacy.”
Novak will continue teaching at COCC until wrapping up this semester. He will simultaneously work with Dr. Kyes to onboard until taking on the role full-time in December.