Dr. Ryan Niemiec, Faculty Chair

Ryan M. Niemiec, Psy.D. is a leading figure in the education, research, and practice of character strengths that are found in all human beings. He is the Chief Science & Education Officer of the VIA Institute on Character, a global, non-profit organization in Cincinnati that advances the latest science of character strengths. Ryan is author of 9 books including the brand new consumer-oriented books The Power of Character Strengths (a #1 Amazon bestseller) and The Strengths-Based Workbook for Stress Relief, as well as practitioner-focused books that are leaders in their respective fields including, Character Strengths Interventions, Mindfulness and Character Strengths and Positive Psychology at the Movies. He’s penned over 80 scholarly/peer-reviewed articles and given more than 700 workshops, keynotes, and webinars on positive psychology topics across the globe. He’s an award-winning psychologist, annual instructor at the University of Pennsylvania, and adjunct professor at Xavier University. Ryan received a “distinguished early career award” from the American Psychological Association in 2011, and was granted Fellow status of the International Positive Psychology Association in 2017.