Documents

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Colorado State University
  • M.S., Colorado State University
  • B.A., University of Northern Colorado

Member of

Biography

Chris Grace serves full time as the director of Biola University’s Center for Marriage and Relationships and is also a professor of psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology. Grace graduated from the University of Northern Colorado with a B.A. in psychology in 1983. He earned his Master of Science and his Doctor of Philosophy degrees in Experimental Social Psychology (1986) from Colorado State University (1988).

Grace began his career at Biola University as a professor of psychology in 1988 and served as chair of the undergraduate psychology department for six years. From 2002 to 2008, he served as vice provost for Faculty Development and University Assessment, all the while continuing to teach the Introduction to Psychology course every year at Biola. Recorded in Fall 2010 and Fall 2013, this course became an international hit on Youtube, with the most popular lecture earning over 130,000 views. He was honored with the Professor of the Year Award by Biola's senior class in 1994. He also received the university’s highest teaching honor — The Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching — in 2001 and has been recognized in Who's Who Among College Professors numerous times. From 2008 to 2014, Grace served as the vice president for Student Development, University Planning and Information Technology at Biola, while continuing to teach psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology. During this period, Dr. Grace served on the President’s Administration Council and led the effort for integrated strategic planning at Biola University.

Grace has served as an executive member of the WASC Re-Accreditation team and is currently an outside reviewer for other WASC universities. He also serves on the editorial review board of various professional journals. Grace has numerous publications and presentations in the field of psychology, and speaks regularly at conference centers, churches and colleges and universities on the topics of dating, marriage and relationships.

Chris Grace and his wife, Alisa, are frequent speakers at marriage conferences and seminars. With professional training as well as practical experience they have counseled thousands of couples, sharing foundational and practical insights on enhancing intimacy. In spring of 2014 they designed and team-taught a new, integrative course at Biola University, along with two other faculty couples, called Christian Perspectives on Relationships. They also partner with the Center for Healthy Relationships at John Brown University to provide seminars and couples retreats at colleges and universities and conference centers nationwide. He writes a popular blog on relationships, and co-hosts the podcast The Art of Relationships.

Chris Grace's appointment calendar is available.

Affiliations

  • American Psychological Society (Member)
  • Marriage and Family: A Christian Journal, Editorial Review Board
  • Journal of Psychology and Theology, Editorial Review Board

Publications

Articles

  • David Myers and Chris Grace "Christian Faithfulness and Human Sexuality: Findings from the Social Sciences." eCircle Conversations www.respectfulconversation.net. 2015.
  • “Special Issue: Evolutionary Psychology and Intelligent Design” Journal of Psychology and Theology, Part 2-30(1), 2002, Part 1-29(4), 2001.
  • “Intelligent design psychology and evolutionary psychology on consciousness: Turning water into wine.” with Moreland, J.P. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 30, 2002. Pp. 51-67.
  • “The Pleistocene mind: A critical review of evolutionary psychology and an introduction to intelligent design psychology.” Journal of Psychology and Theology, 29, 2001. Pp. 289-300.
  • “Christianity and evolutionary psychology: Introduction to special issue-Part I.” Journal of Psychology and Theology, 29, 2001. Pp. 287-288.
  • “Effects of perceived ethnicity on ratings of speaker/teacher effectiveness.” Research on Christian Higher Education, 5, 1998. Pp. 125-139.
  • Excellence in pedagogy: Some obstacles to integration for the Christian psychology professor. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23(4), 1995.
  • The perils and promises of teaching integration in introductory psychology. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 23(4), 1995.
  • Science, religion and the 17th-century Puritans. Faculty Dialogue, 26. 1995.
  • Psychotherapists’ management of confidentiality, burnout and affiliation needs: A national survey. Psychotherapy in Private Practice, 13(2), 1-17. 1994.
  • Effects of compliance techniques on spontaneous and asked-for helping. Journal of Social Psychology, 128, 525-532. 1988.

Research Interests

  • Relationships
  • Marriage
  • Premarital Counseling
  • Marriage Mentoring
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