- Dan McAdams '76
Professor of Psychology
Northwestern University
Evanston, Ill.
Dan P. McAdams is Chair of the Psychology Department at Northwestern University, where
he is also a professor of human development and social policy. He received his doctorate in
personality and developmental psychology from Harvard University in 1979. His research
focuses on the kinds of stories that adults construct to make sense of their lives and their worlds.
Among his books are George W. Bush and the Redemptive Dream: A Psychological Portrait (2010); Power, Intimacy, and the Life Story: Personological Inquiries into
Identity (1985); and The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By (2006). McAdams received a
Distinguished Alumni Award from Valparaiso University in 1988 and an honorary degree (Doctor
of Humane Letters) in 2008.
