Thomas Joiner, PhD, is the 2023 recipient of the International Association for Suicide Prevention Lifetime Achievement Award, which is presented every two years to one outstanding researcher in the field. Joiner’s work focuses on the psychology, neurobiology, and treatment of suicidal behavior and related conditions.
Shelley E. Taylor, PhD, a Distinguished Professor Emerita of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles, was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden at a White House ceremony held in October. An expert on adversity and how social relationships can protect people against stress, Taylor was honored for helping to launch the fields of social cognition, health psychology, and social neuroscience.
Kenya Key, PsyD, CCHP-MH, has joined the National Commission on Correctional Health Care’s multidisciplinary Board of Representatives as APA’s liaison. As deputy director of health services for the Washington, D.C., Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Key oversees behavioral health and restorative justice programs. Previously, she served as chief psychologist for Cermak Health Services at Cook County Jail in Chicago.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the Director’s New Innovator Award to Dani Arigo, PhD, an associate professor of psychology in Rowan’s College of Science and Mathematics. Arigo’s work centers on social comparisons. Arigo will use the 5-year, $1.5 million grant to further explore the myriad ways people are influenced by social comparisons.
Faye Belgrave, PhD, has been named vice president and chief diversity officer at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). Belgrave currently serves as associate dean for equity and community partnerships in VCU’s College of Humanities and Sciences, a position she has held since 2020. She joined VCU in 1997 as a professor of psychology and her work centers on health disparities, community-engaged and culturally informed research, and gender-specific research.
The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) has honored Thomas Fagan, PhD, CCHP-MH, with the 2023 Bernard P. Harrison Award of Merit. Fagan served as APA’s liaison to the NCCHC board for 25 years. He is professor emeritus in the College of Psychology at Nova Southeastern University in Florida and has published extensively on topics related to mental health care in corrections.
Debra Baeder, PhD, was appointed to the independent commission that will be investigating the facts surrounding the mass shooting in Lewiston, Maine, on October 25. Baeder is the former chief forensic psychologist for the state of Maine. The independent commission is looking carefully at all the facts surrounding the event, including official response in the months preceding and during the shootings.
Colorado State University (CSU) has chosen Marion Underwood, PhD, as the next provost and executive vice president, effective January 1. She serves as CSU’s chief academic officer and as the second in command within the university administration. Since 2018, Underwood has served as dean for the College of Health and Human Sciences at Purdue University in Indiana. Prior to her work at Purdue, Underwood was a faculty member at Reed College in Portland, Oregon, then a professor and administrator at the University of Texas at Dallas.
