Joseph Ferrari

Deacon Joseph R. Ferrari, PhD, is Professor of Psychology and St. Vincent de Paul Distinguished Professor at DePaul University, Chicago, IL. The author of over 400 scholarly publications and 700 conference presentations, Dr. Ferrari also is a Permanent Deacon in the Roman Catholic Church serving the Diocese of Joliet, IL, since August 2013.

A global speaker and scholar on applied social-community-personality psychology topics, Rev. Dr. Ferrari's research is known internationally for the study of the causes and consequence of chronic procrastination. He is the author of the highly successful popular book “Still Procrastinating? The No Regrets Guide to Getting It Done” (John Wiley & Sons, Publisher, or available through Amazon). Within applied-community psychology, he focuses on psychological home, ‘clutter’ in the home, office and technology settings, homeless university students, the role of spirituality in recovery among homeless adults, community volunteerism, caregiver stress and satisfaction, volunteer leaders of religious and spiritual organizations, child safety in retail stores, psychological sense of community, and behavioral applications to social problems.

Rev. Dr. Ferrari was Editor of the Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community from 1995 to 2023, and former Founding Director of both the Master of Research Psychology and the Doctorate in Community Psychology, both at DePaul.

Rev. Dr. Ferrari is a Fellow in six professional organizations, including APA/Div. 27 the Society for Community Research and Action. In 2016, Rev. Dr. Ferrari was the sole recipient of APA’s “Distinguished Italian-American Psychologist” award. At DePaul, he received the University’s 2001 “Excellence in Scholarship” Award and was the sole recipient of the 2009 “Excellence in Public Service” Award. The College of Science & Health awarded him the 2025 “Excellence in Research” award. Rev. Dr. Ferrari was nominated by students for the “Excellence in Teaching” Award 11 times since 2000, as recently as 2025. In 2019, he was the sole nominee in the Psychology Dept. for the “CSH Mentor of the Year” Award, receiving the second highest rating across all college faculty. At DePaul, he received the PSI CHI Distinguished Service Award in 1999, 2004, 2006, and 2011. He served as the Faculty Advisor for DePaul’s Chapter from 1998 to 2007, and then again in 2010-2011.

Dn. Joe lives in Lisle, IL; His wife, Sharon is a graduate of DePaul’s School of Education in MEd and Type 75 degrees; His children are graduates of DePaul’s undergraduate [and master’s] programs, from the College of Liberal Arts and the College of Digital Media and Computers.