Passion for Psychology Unites Couple

The Detweiler-Bedells’ passion for psychology not only determined their career paths, it also sparked their romance.

Brian Bedell’s and Jerusha Detweiler’s lives first intersected at Stanford University, where they majored in psychology as undergrads and earned master’s degrees in 1995 under the same adviser. Yet they were barely acquaintances. (In fact, only years later did they recall once studying for a statistics exam together.) After learning that they were both headed to Yale to pursue doctoral work, “we decided to get together and talk about graduate school,” says Brian. Both fretted that pursuing a Ph.D. would be onerous, so they decided to arrange social events for their cohort of fellow doctoral candidates.

Jerusha and Brian Detweiler-Bedell, assistant professors of psychology, lead a group lab meeting. The couple has found that their interests and personalities are a good fit both inside and outside the classroom.

Jerusha didn’t hear from Brian again until he phoned a few days before their first class at Yale. He was nearing the end of a drive from California to Connecticut, and asked to crash at Jerusha’s apartment until he found his own place. She consented, and during those next few days the pair talked late into the night, mostly about their common love of psychology. “We just hit it off,” says Jerusha.

Their friendship blossomed quickly, yet romance wasn’t immediate. Not until the end of their first year at Yale—only after Brian was satisfied he’d made a good female friend, and only after they’d convinced their suspecting classmates that they were not dating—did they become a couple.

If they were in denial over their mutual attraction, Brian says, it was for the best. “By sharing so many interests and being friends for so long, we laid the foundation for a much more solid romantic relationship.”

They were married in June 1999 by their dissertation adviser, who was also a justice of the peace. “He was a full-service adviser,” Brian quips.

As they wound down their doctoral studies, the Detweiler-Bedells (once married, they wanted to share a surname) were prepared to relocate to wherever one of them received a faculty post. “Our thought was that if we didn’t both get jobs at the same place, we’d move to the city most likely to have another job opening in academia,” says Jerusha.

Then Jerusha’s clinical internship supervisor noticed an ad in The American Psychologist for three faculty positions at Lewis & Clark College, including one for a social psychologist—Brian’s specialty—and another for a health and community psychologist—Jerusha’s bailiwick. But their excitement was tempered with the hard truth: landing these two highly sought-after posts was far from a cinch. But Lewis & Clark liked them, and vice versa. From the couple’s standpoint, the College’s intimate size, West Coast location, liberal arts environment, and friendly colleagues made it “a perfect fit,” says Jerusha.

Students are among the happy beneficiaries of their decision. They describe the Detweiler-Bedells as enthusiastic, accessible, supportive, and sincerely interested in their lives. Indeed, the couple regularly attends campus events such as crew races, theatre productions, lectures, and symposia. Twice a semester, they invite students to dine at their house across the street from the campus’ North Drive.

“The entire reason we were so attracted to a liberal arts college was the community, which doesn’t stop in the classroom or in the lab,” explains Brian. “Going to plays and athletic events gives us the opportunity to get to know our students better and see them excel outside the classroom. Students appreciate us being there.”

Brian and Jerusha say they like the way their lives integrate the often separate notions of home and work and personal and professional. Similarly, they enjoy working close to each other. After all, a shared passion for psychology is what brought them together. They are not joined at the hip: they teach separate classes, pursue research with faculty from other institutions, and don’t necessarily see each other during the workday. “But if I have an idea for a new research project,” says Brian, “it’s incredibly convenient having Jerusha right down the hall.”

—by Dan Sadowsky