Ken DeBono is the Gilbert R. Livingston Professor of the Behavioral Sciences. His main areas of research are the psychology of persuasion and the psychology of religion, although his favorite course to teach is “Introduction to Psychology.” He joined Union in 1986. Professor DeBono lives in Schenectady with his wife, Shirley, and their cat, Bailey. The couple has two grown children, Jillian, who graduated from Union in 2013, and Craig, who graduated from RPI (but is a die-hard Union hockey fan), and one grandchild, Anthony.
FIRST APP YOU LOOK AT IN THE MORNING: Quiz Planet
Professor Ken DeBono stands with President James Madison at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.
ONE BOOK YOU HAVE READ MULTIPLE TIMES: Every Hercule Poirot mystery
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER RECEIVED: Watch your nickels and dimes and the dollars will take care of themselves.
FAVORITE SPOT ON CAMPUS: Achilles Rink on hockey nights
GO-TO BREAKFAST: Cheerios
NETFLIX OR AMAZON: Netflix (for foreign language detective/crime shows)
FAVORITE PODCAST: “Constitutionally Speaking”
ONE SKILL YOU WISH YOU HAD: To play guitar like Duane Allman
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR PANDEMIC DIVERSION/ACCOMPLISHMENT: I have learned more technology in the past nine months than in my first 60 years. So far, I’ve learned Zoom, how to incorporate PowerPoint slides into my lectures and how to develop exams on Nexus - all big accomplishments for me! Heck, I was even able to offer tech advice to someone else; 2020 is clearly not a normal year!
ANOTHER SUBJECT YOU WISH YOU COULD TEACH: History of the American Revolution
MOST CREATIVE EXCUSE YOU HEARD FOR A LATE ASSIGNMENT: My printer ran out of black ink, and I didn't think it was appropriate to print in a different color.