Cynthia Pickett, PhD, has been appointed the Presidential Associate for Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer at Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) where she will lead in its efforts to advance equity, diversity, and inclusion on campus. Pickett will also be responsible for “collaborating with partners across the campus to foster a meaningful sense of belonging for all members of the Cal Poly Pomona community,” according to a statement from CPP President Soraya M. Coley. Previously, Pickett was an associate professor of psychology and associate provost for diversity, equity, and inclusion at DePaul University.
Stacey Jackson, PhD, an assistant professor in psychology, was the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire honoree for the 2022 UW System Women of Color in Education Award. Jackson was selected for creating a student of color support group, founding the Marginalized Identity Status and Trauma Research Lab, and aiding in the creation of a workshop to help university employees identify and support students’ mental health needs.
The Southern Illinois Chapter of the United Nations Association has presented Jane Swanson, PhD, with the 2022 Human Rights Day Award. Swanson is a professor emerita in counseling psychology at Southern Illinois University Carbondale and was recognized for founding Carbondale’s Free Laundry Project and Diaper Bank. The laundry project provides people with clean clothes and helps them prepare for work, while the diaper bank distributes free diapers to low-income parents and families.
The University of Louisville has presented the 2023 Grawemeyer Award in Psychology to social psychologists David Dunning, PhD, and Justin Kruger, PhD, for identifying a cognitive bias that causes people to overrate their competence. Their idea “Unskilled and Unaware of It,” also known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, shows that people tend to have overly flattering opinions of their ability to perform tasks compared with what objective evidence shows. Their finding has been cited in more than 8,500 scholarly publications and mentioned regularly in popular media discussions of issues ranging from national politics to education policy.
The International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies has presented the Traumatic Stress Studies Award for Excellence in Trauma Services for the Underserved to Lauren Ng, PhD, an assistant professor in the psychology department at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). This is the society’s highest honor. Ng directs the Treatment and Research for the Underserved with Stress and Trauma Lab at UCLA; her research focuses on posttraumatic stress disorder interventions for underserved minority communities in the United States and low- and middle-income countries.
The Board of Governors of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education has named Karen Riley, PhD, as the next president of Slippery Rock University. Her term begins July 1. Riley previously served as provost and chief academic officer at Regis University in Denver since 2021 and, before that, as dean of the College of Education at the University of Denver from 2014 to 2021.
APA has presented presidential citations to Kari Sassu, PhD, of Southern Connecticut State University, and Sandra M. Chafouleas, PhD, of the University of Connecticut. Sassu’s citation recognizes her work in facilitating interactions between people with autism spectrum disorder and the community. Chafouleas’s citation honors her contributions to supporting the mental health of students in schools in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
