Daniel Reschly, a distinguished professor of psychology, will leave Iowa State at the end of this semester for a position at Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Reschly submitted his letter of resignation in December 1997, and he said it will take effect in August 1998.

“My resignation reflects many push and pull factors,” Reschly said.

Reschly cited the pull factors as an outstanding opportunity at Vanderbilt, where he will join what he described as a highly-regarded department of school psychology.

School psychology is a specialty area within psychology that focuses primarily on school-aged children with mental disabilities.

Reschly said the push came from changes in the Department of Psychology.

He said he feels that ISU places less emphasis on professionally-oriented programs like the ones he has directed in school psychology.

The possibility that the department’s doctoral program will be discontinued is just one example of how the school has taken emphasis off of professionally focused programs, he said.

Douglas Epperson, interim department chair, said the school psychology doctorate program will not actually be discontinued; instead, it will be merged with the counseling psychology program.

A mandatory external review of the psychology department and the resulting recommendations were the impetus behind the ongoing discussion of changes to the curriculum, he said.

“Our programs have been very successful and have attracted both excellent students as well as a significant amount of external funding,” Reschly said.

He said it is very difficult for him to leave ISU because he has had a long-term association with the university.

Reschly was an ISU undergraduate here from 1962 to 1966. He left for 10 years but returned in 1975 when a position matching his interests opened in the department.

In 1991, Reschly earned the rank of distinguished professor, the highest academic honor at ISU.

About 5 percent of ISU’s professors are classified as distinguished, he said.

Reschly has won numerous awards in school psychology at the national level for both leadership and scholarship, one of which was the National Association of School Psychology’s Distinguished Service Award.

“Reschly is highly regarded at Iowa State. He has a long history of service not only to the university but also to the state,” Epperson said.

“He has been very instrumental in developing programs for special needs children. His presence will be missed here,” he said.

Although ISU is an institution that places primary interest outside of the social sciences, Reschly said it has been a good place to pursue his career.

He also said he has many good memories of ISU, ranging from his classes as an undergraduate to the students he worked with as a member of the faculty.

“I leave with no bitterness or anger,” Reschly said. “ISU has been a great place.”