Professor of Psychology Collin Barnes may not be instantly recognizable as a self-described former “straight-laced high school kid with a deep appreciation for grunge rock and the counter culture.”
But there are still traces of the young marching-band member to be found in the rock ‘n’ roll loving professor. The man who was close friends with his older brother as a child now spends his free time with a family of his own. The man whose mother was a teacher is now responsible for the education of others.
Barnes was hired by Hillsdale in 2012 to teach psychology, marking the realization of a dream that formed when Barnes was a college student himself.
Barnes first decided that he wanted to be an teacher when he was a student at John Brown University, a Christian liberal arts school in Arkansas that is roughly the same size as Hillsdale.
“I want to do what the people around here do: teach a discipline and interact with students,” Barnes remembers telling a friend.
He stayed at John Brown to complete his graduate studies in psychology, and, in 2010, received his Ph.D. While at John Brown working towards his doctoral degree, Barnes met his future wife, Meghan, and he proposed within 8 weeks. They currently have two daughters: Drue, 4, and Paige, nearly 2.
“I can’t quantify their importance to me,” Barnes said of his daughters. “Just the other day I was sitting in my office and, I don’t know what brought it to mind, but I suddenly found myself smiling and wishing I could hug them.”
After completing his postdoctoral research, Barnes moved to Delaware with his young family and worked in the corporate sector as he began searching for an academic position.
While in Delaware, Barnes and his family invited a young Hillsdale graduate that they met at church to come over for dinner. During the meal, Barnes mentioned his most recent rejection letter from an academic institution.
Within a few days, the Hillsdale alum called to tell Barnes that a psychology position was open at Hillsdale.
“I wrote an email thinking that it was unlikely the position was still open, but it was, and so, long story short, we moved to Michigan,” Barnes said.
Barnes came to Hillsdale ready to share his passion for psychology characterized by a “true love” for research in the field. Since his arrival, Barnes has worked to bring that passion to his classroom and to share his enthusiasm with his students.
“This semester in my Research Methods class, we, as a group, are testing three interrelated and novel hypotheses that have not been tested before,” Barnes said.
Barnes firmly believes that this type of work is equally important to the more common projects in which students attempt to replicate experiments that have already been done, he said.
“I want to instill in students an understanding for how the science of psychology can help us learn new things,” Barnes said.
Barnes’ dedication has impressed his students, including senior Bridget Ervin.
“[His classes are] some of the best quality I have encountered in my three years in the psychology department,” Ervin said. “Barnes is an instructor who electrifies the room with his enthusiasm, makes the time enjoyable with his audaciously lame jokes, brings in pertinent extra material, and makes our studies personal.”
Ervin will be working on research with Barnes this summer in conjunction with another student.
Barnes’ willingness to be involved with student’s research projects reflects his belief that it is important for him to remain active in his discipline through research of his own.
“To be a good teacher of psychology, I need to do what I can to conduct psychological research and be a contributor to the field,” Barnes said, though he has to work to find time for research in his full schedule.
“It’s something I do in my spare time, … which there is not a lot of!” Barnes said.
Barnes believes that psychology is a logical part of the curriculum for a college like Hillsdale, saying that it meshes well with the “liberal arts ethos” and encourages students to make connections between the ideas they learn in his classes and the other knowledge they have gleaned from their education at Hillsdale.
At the end of each semester, Barnes has students in his Psychology 101 class choose a play, movie, short story, novel, painting, piece of poetry, or piece of music that demonstrates a psychological principle they have learned.
He encourages them to “ask what the creator [of that work] is asking you to believe about reality and the universe.”
Continuing his existing efforts to integrate multiple disciplines, Barnes is also working with Professor John Miller, head of the Dow Journalism Program, whom he met during his first few weeks at Hillsdale. They quickly discovered a mutual love for the horror literature of H.P. Lovecraft.
“We started geeking out on that for a little bit and decided to team-teach an honors seminar next semester on Lovecraft and the Psychology of Horror,” Miller said.
Both are excited for the endeavor, and Barnes hopes that it will help expand and continue the interdisciplinary dialogue that Hillsdale attempts to foster.
“Psychology can and should be a player at the table of the conversation about what human nature is,” Barnes said.
Barnes’ reference to the great conversation reflects the fact that he can most often be found doing exactly that: pursuing conversations with those around him. Whether chatting with students during office hours or participating in what he affectionately refers to as “heady conversations” with other professors on porch stoops, Barnes strives to engage the people he encounters.
“One of the things that I love about being here is that I spend more time with philosophers and historians then I do psychologists,” Barnes said.
Barnes says that he is happy at Hillsdale for many reasons, including the opportunity to teach, share his passion for research, and interact with his students and fellow professors.
“But one of the most important reasons is that Hillsdale is the kind of place where my family not only can be involved, but are welcome to be involved,” Barnes said.
He and his family have found a place that feels like home, and a place where his passion can be fulfilled.
“Students want to learn. I’m actually considering them as fellow sojourners on the pursuit of understanding: you want to know… I want to know. And that is really very different from other experiences that I’ve had.”
