Yo San University Appoints New President

After a national search Lawrence J. Ryan, Ph,D. was recently appointed by the Yo San University Board of Trustees to the position of President. Dr. Ryan (“Larry”) began his tenure as President on June 10, 2009. Larry’s background in higher education is extensive. Most recently he served as the Chair of the Psychology Concentration and Core Faculty Member in the Ph. D. Program at Union Institute & University, which is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Among other previous positions Larry has served as Vice President of Academic Affairs at American InterContinental University, Los Angeles, Graduate Dean at Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles and Vice President and Academic Dean at St. John’s College in Camarillo, California. In addition, Larry served for six years in the position of Graduate Dean at Union Institute and University, fourteen years as a faculty member and Psychology Department Chair at Mount St. Mary’s College Los Angeles and another six years as Professor and Behavioral Sciences Department Chair at Lyndon State College in Vermont.

Larry’s background in higher education is complemented by his status as a licensed California psychologist, a credential that he has held since 1978 and which provided him with diverse clinical experiences that included affiliations with several Southern California hospitals and clinics. While his background and training have engaged psychological perspectives as diverse as psychoanalysis and behavioral theory, Larry identifies most closely with “Third Force” Humanistic Psychology, which he sees as the perspective most compatible with Taoist healing and human potential principles.



At Yo San University Larry is motivated to collaborate with the board, faculty staff, students and alumni to take the institution to the next level of excellence, including the actualization of the doctoral program and building additional partnerships with Southern California hospitals, agencies, clinics and institutions.. Dr. Ryan stated, “YSU is in a position of exciting growth and development, and I am delighted to have been chosen to be in a leadership role at this time.” Larry pledges to continue an open office policy and welcomes all members of the community to come in for conversation and involvement in the further development of YSU.