The Administration for Children and Families of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has presented an Adoption Excellence Award to Jill Waterman, PhD, an adjunct professor emeritus of psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles. Waterman was recognized for her work with UCLA TIES for Families, an interdisciplinary organization she co-founded in 1995. TIES has helped thousands of children adopted from foster care and their families by providing trauma- and resiliency-informed treatment and supporting stable, nurturing adoptive families.
University of Oklahoma psychology professor Eric Day, PhD, walked and ran continuously for 24 hours—81 miles total—in November to raise money for psychology student scholarships. Day, an industrial-organizational psychologist who chairs the psychology department, asked friends, colleagues, students and family members to pledge scholarship money for every mile he completed. At Monitor press time, he had raised $3,500.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is welcoming eight more psychologist fellows, chosen for their significant contributions to science and technology, scientific leadership, and extraordinary achievement in psychology. They are: Kimberly Andrews Espy, PhD, University of Arizona; Alison Gopnik, PhD, University of California, Berkeley; Darlene V. Howard, PhD, Georgetown University; Thomas Ellis Joiner Jr., PhD, Florida State University; Diane M. Mackie, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara; Brenda Major, PhD, University of California, Santa Barbara; Lynn Twarog Singer, PhD, Case Western Reserve University; and Michael J. Tarr, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University.
The Minnesota Indian Education Association has presented its post-secondary Teacher of the Year award to Bemidji State University psychology professor John Gonzalez, PhD, for his commitment to students’ learning and well-being. Gonzalez, a member of the White Earth Anishinaabe Nation, is also a member of the local Bemidji K–12 School Board and conducts research on microaggressions and American Indians’ experiences with education, health-care access, and suicide and substance abuse prevention.
The University of Louisville has presented its $100,000 Grawemeyer Award for Psychology to Cornell University psychologist Robert J. Sternberg, PhD, for his theory of successful intelligence. Sternberg posits that intelligence encompasses a range of abilities, including analytical reasoning, creative thinking and common sense as well as practical, ethical and wisdom-based skills. His theories have inspired colleges to change their admission processes, resulting in more opportunities for students from diverse backgrounds. Sternberg served as APA president in 2003. He has served on the Cornell faculty since 2014 and previously held administrative positions at Oklahoma State, Tufts and Yale universities.
The Institute of Higher Education at the University of Georgia has selected Katherine Kipp, PhD, as one of its 15 Governor’s Teaching Fellows—outstanding faculty chosen from throughout the state for their commitment to excellence in teaching. Kipp is a professor of psychological science at the University of North Georgia. Fellows attend three-day retreats each month to further develop their teaching skills and learn to incorporate emerging technology and instructional tools into their classrooms. Kipp has been a professor at the university since 2007 and conducts research on the development of cognitive inhibition and executive function in children.