Maricel Cigales, PhD, a psychology professor and director of the Behavior Analysis Program at Florida International University, has been named associate dean of undergraduate studies for the school's College of Arts and Sciences. She earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Louisiana State University and her master's and PhD from the university. Cigales's research has focused on learning and memory, the effects of tactile stimulation and mother-infant interaction.
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez has appointed psychologist Barbara Damron, PhD, to her cabinet as the secretary of the New Mexico Higher Education Department. Damron, whose doctorate is in educational psychology, has most recently served as an associate professor at the University of New Mexico's College of Nursing and School of Medicine, where she studied barriers to cancer screening. She also directed the Office of Community Partnerships and Cancer Health Disparities and the Hispanic and Native American Community Outreach program at the University of New Mexico Cancer Center.
University of Colorado Boulder presented its College Scholar Awards to Sona Dimidjian, PhD, and Robert L. Spencer, PhD, professors in the university's department of psychology and neuroscience. The awards enable tenured faculty to pursue full-time research or creative scholarly activities for a semester. Dimidjian conducts research on depression; Spencer studies stress neurobiology.
Forbes magazine named Jon Freeman, PhD, to its "30 Under 30" list of "game changers, movers and makers" to watch in the field of science. Freeman is an assistant professor of psychology at New York University and director of the Social Cognitive and Neural Sciences Lab. He conducts research on how we use facial cues to categorize others and perceive their emotions.
The Society for Research in Child Development has presented an Early Career Award to Anna D. Johnson, PhD, an assistant professor in the psychology department at Georgetown University. Johnson earned her doctorate in developmental psychology from Columbia University in 2010 and studies the role of public policy in the development of children from lower-income families.
The Institute of Medicine has appointed Daniel C. Marson, PhD, JD, to its Committee to Evaluate the Social Security Administration's Capability Determination Process for Adult Beneficiaries. Marson is a professor of neurology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and director of the university's Alzheimer's Disease Center.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro has awarded Paul Silvia, PhD, its Junior Faculty Research Excellence Award. Silvia conducts research on self-awareness, the emotion of interest and creativity. He is also author of the APA book "How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Academic Writing."
Bethany Teachman, PhD, a professor of the University of Virginia, received an Outstanding Mentor award from the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. Teachman's lab, the Program for Anxiety, Cognition and Treatment, investigates cognitive processes that contribute to the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders.
Loyola University Maryland has named Amanda Thomas, PhD, the next dean of Loyola College, the university's school of arts and sciences. Thomas is now dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia. Prior to holding that position, she was a member of the Loyola University Maryland faculty for more than 20 years. Thomas is a clinical psychologist whose research interests include children, families and anxiety disorders.
The Virginia Commonwealth University Board of Visitors has named psychology professor Everett Worthington Jr., PhD, a Commonwealth Professor, an award that recognizes extraordinary scholarly achievement. Worthington has published more than 350 scholarly articles and chapters and more than 35 books during his career. He is an internationally recognized expert in the field of forgiveness and reconciliation, and is regarded as one of the two founders of the field of forgiveness studies.
Psychologist to head Catholic Charities
Catholic Charities USA has appointed Dominican Sister and psychologist Donna Markham, PhD, as its new president. She is the first woman to lead Catholic Charities, which was founded in 1910.
The organization, based in Alexandria, Virginia, is the national office of more than 160 local Catholic Charities agencies nationwide, which all strive to reduce poverty in the United States.
Markham has a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Detroit, is a fellow of the American Association of Clinical Psychologists, and is also president of the Behavioral Health Institute for Mercy Health in Ohio and Kentucky.