"Wisdom and Collegiality" - Dr. Paul Trapnell's colleagues share tributes on his retirement
Mon. Apr. 7, 2025
Dr. Paul Trapnell, Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology, retired in the fall of 2024. Dr. Trapnell was clearly a valued colleague in the Department of Psychology and regarded as a strong professor and “incredible” mentor. Members of his department pay tribute to his vast knowledge, particularly in his area of study, the psychology of personality, where he was knowledgeable about the “cutting-edge” research in his field, but also about other seemly unrelated topics/areas, such as social issues and opera.
Carolynn Smallwood, Department Assistant in Psychology, took this photo “down the line” with Dr. Trapnell’s retirement in mind. Carolynn expressed concern that her photos weren’t worthy of his decades of service, but we feel that this photo does convey a sense of emptiness in the space Dr. Trapnell was so very much part of.
Dr. Derrick Bourassa, Chair of the Department of Psychology, speaks to Dr. Trapnell’s strength as a professor and the quality of his research.
“For many years Paul was trusted to deliver foundational courses for the Department (e.g., Introductory Psychology and Personality Psychology), and he always came through with flying colours. In addition, students in his advanced seminar course in Personality Psychology benefited immensely from his vast knowledge of the cutting-edge research in the field. Paul maintained a tremendously broad and interesting research program over his career; in his final years in the Department he was a key investigator on two grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.”
Dr. Bourassa concludes, “Paul’s wisdom and collegiality were greatly appreciated by all.”
Dr. Trapnell was co-investigator on Dr. Erin Buckels’ SSHRC grant. Dr. Buckels shares her thoughts on his retirement, remarking too on Dr. Trapnell’s particular interest in the study of personality psychology. “Paul’s favorite personality domain is Openness/Intellect, which is fitting because he is a deep and imaginative thinker with a remarkable ability to explore issues from different perspectives. In other words, he scores highly on his favorite personality domain! As his colleagues can attest, Paul can always be counted on to offer his knowledge on a wide range of topics, from new scientific discoveries and critiques to social issues and even the opera. He has been an incredible mentor to many students over the years, spending countless hours helping them with their honours thesis projects and often going above and beyond to help them reach their goals. The Psychology department was fortunate to have him in our ranks.”
Dr. Buckels concludes her tribute by saying, “We are celebrating his newfound freedom to enjoy unlimited dog walks and data analysis sessions in retirement.”