Michael Penn is a Clinical Psychologist, Department Chair, and Professor of Psychology at Franklin & Marshall College.  His research interests and publications explore experimental psychopathology, the application of psychological research & theory to human rights, the interpenetration of psychology and philosophy, and the relationship between culture and psychopathology.

Professor Penn has lectured widely around and is the author of three books, including, Overcoming Violence against Women and Girls: The International Campaign to Eradicate a Worldwide Problem, published by Rowman & Littlefield, Moral Trauma: An Analysis of Akrasia and Mental Health, with Azin Nasseri, and is co-editor, with Hoda Mahmoudi, of Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Human Rights and Human Dignity, published by Emerald. He has also authored more than a dozen academic papers and chapters.

In 2004 Penn was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Administration by Governor Edward Rendell. He currently serves on the Board of the Authenticity Institute, and is a member of the Permanent Board of the Tahirih Justice Center, which provides legal, clinical, and human rights protections for women fleeing gender-based persecution and violence.  Professor Penn was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1986 and is a former Ford Foundation/National Academy of Sciences Fellow.