A special issue in honour of Stephen Lea – a true comparative psychologist

It has been a privilege to be invited to edit this special edition of Learning & Behavior to celebrate Stephen Lea’s impressive scientific career. His academic life has already spanned over 50 years and is still going strong. Stephen began his PhD in 1967 at Cambridge University and took on his first RA job at the same institution in 1970. He accepted his post at the University of Exeter in 1976, where he worked his way up from Lecturer to become full Professor of Psychology in 1990, serving as Head of Department (twice!), Dean of the Faculty of Science and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University. Stephen retired from the University of Exeter in 2011, but he has continued to be a very active Emeritus Professor, including serving as Editor-in-Chief for Animal Cognition from 2011-2016. …