Welcome to the Department of Psychology, Drs. Alex Ajayi and Melissa Ertl

The Department of Psychology is thrilled to announce the hiring of two new assistant professors for Counseling Psychology. Dr. Alex Ajayi and Dr. Melissa Ertl will officially join our department in Fall 2023. 

Ajayi is an assistant professor in psychology at Augsburg University. His primary research focuses on social identity development and the experiences of socially marginalized populations. 

Ertl is currently a research fellow at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies at the New York Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University where she researches the social determinants of health risk behaviors and health disparities among marginalized groups—primarily among Latinx immigrants and young adults.

We are excited to welcome their expertise in health equity and distinguished scholarship. 

Alex Ajayi, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at the Augsburg University. 

Melissa Ertl, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies.