Psychology professor named president-elect of international research association

Engaging in and strengthening psychology research at Arizona State University and globally is a priority for Ashley K. Randall.

In recognition of that commitment, Randall, an associate professor in the School of Counseling and Counseling Psychology in ASU's College of Integrative Sciences and Arts, was recently announced as president-elect of the International Association for Relationship Research, or IARR. She will begin her term as president-elect in August, and assume the role of president for the 2026–28 term.

In this role, Randall is eager to push the boundaries of the organization’s international reach in regions such as Africa, Asia and South America — priming her to broaden curriculum and research initiatives as a professor and newly appointed Dean’s Fellow for faculty research and graduate programs in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

“As president of IARR, I look forward to working collectively with our interdisciplinary and global members to elevate relationship sciences’ impact on research, practice and global policy,” Randall says. “Such efforts will undoubtedly influence academic curricula and mental health practices at the national and global level.”

The IARR and its multiple subcommittees strive to promote advances in the scientific study of personal and social relationships, and encourage collaboration among students and new and experienced scholars.

An advocate of IARR’s mission, Randall, who focuses her research on couples coping with stress, has held various positions in the organization since 2008. Most recently, she was the editor-in-chief of Personal Relationships — the flagship journal of the IARR, in which she and her associate editors implemented an international section of the journal welcoming research from scholars who report on international samples collected outside of North America or examine cross-cultural investigations.

Randall and her associate editors facilitated this initiative by designing a peer mentorship program that offered English-language support and other publishing insights to authors, providing international and underrepresented scholars a path to publishing in the journal.

“To tackle the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals, we need to know more about individuals who are not from WEIRDWEIRD stands for western, educated, industrialized, rich and democratic. nations,” said Randall, a Fulbright alumna (Switzerland, 2007) and Fulbright Specialist (Indonesia, 2023). “I will continue to explore ways to increase resources for those who are doing work in the science of relationships, given our social and personal relationships are inextricably linked to our physical and mental health.”

Seeing the benefits of mentorship in real time, Randall co-developed the Faculty Development Connections Circles Program in her prior role as an ADVANCE Faculty Fellow. The program is designed to support career advancement and increase feelings of belonging and social connectedness among all faculty across ASU.

In her newly appointed role as Dean’s Fellow for faculty research and graduate programs, Randall will continue on her research-forward trajectory to foster and elevate research initiatives and activities in the College of Integrative Sciences and Arts.

“As Dean’s Fellow, one of my goals is to make research tangible for prospective graduate students,” says Randall, who is also a fellow in the American Psychological Association. “It’s important to recognize the societal significance of conducting scholarly research and support and guide those who want to engage in these activities.”

Before beginning her two new positions, she will teach an undergraduate course on cultural considerations to understanding family dynamics in Athens, Greece, and continue work in her Couples Coping with Stress Lab. Her lab, which is committed to conducting research that is use-inspired, socially embedded and globally engaged, includes undergraduate and graduate students who work collectively to address how individuals in the U.S. and abroad, or who identify as a sexual minority, cope with stress in the context of their romantic relationships.

Soon, Randall and a collaborator will publish an international edited volume with Cambridge University Press about the lived experiences of sexual minority and gender-diverse individuals across 12 countries. The volume will also include a review of policies and sociopolitical climates in history versus the current day across the nations represented. 

It’s research such as this that has enabled Randall to be cited more than 5,700 times since 2012. She says she looks forward to honing her extensive research experience as president of IARR and Dean’s Fellow by advocating the importance of “collectively transcending existing theories and methods by being open to others’ points of views through collaborative, global research.”