Joan Ostrove, PhD, psychology professor at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, is the recipient of the 2024 Thomas Jefferson Award. Her recent work centers on the unique experiences of disabled people during the Covid-19 pandemic. Ostrove also serves as the director of the Jan Serie Center for Scholarship and Teaching.
The Project for New Mexico Graduates of Color honored University of New Mexico psychology professor Steven Verney, PhD, for his commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in Albuquerque and throughout the state. Verney, an Alaska Native (Tsimshian), received the All-Around Support Award at the annual Faculty of Color Awards ceremony. The award celebrates his teaching curriculum, which includes cultural psychology, health disparities, research with diverse populations, and psychology of prejudice.
Beth Pontari, PhD, has been named vice president of academic affairs and provost at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina. Pontari, a social psychologist whose research and expertise covers the study of self and identity as well as college student resiliency, has held the provost and vice president position on an interim basis since July 1, 2022. She also has served as chair of the Department of Psychology and as associate provost for engaged learning before becoming interim vice president and provost.
Alexander Christensen, PhD, has won the inaugural Innovation in Teaching: Generative AI Award from Vanderbilt University for his exceptional use of generative artificial intelligence in education. Christensen is assistant professor of psychology and human development at Vanderbilt University and an affiliate faculty member of the Data Science Institute, where he leverages his expertise in data science to enhance interdisciplinary learning environments.
Kirk L. Davis, PhD, has been named chief operating officer for Troy University’s Dothan Campus in Troy, Alabama. Davis had held the position on an interim basis since November 2023. He previously served as director of operations for the Colleges of Education and Health and Human Services at the Dothan Campus. Davis will continue to serve as a full-time faculty member in the Department of Psychology.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has chosen its 2024 honorary fellows. Congratulations to the new AAAS fellows in the section on psychology: Dolores Albarracín, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Linda Argote, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University, Steven Asher, PhD, Duke University, Deanna Barch, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, Neal Krause, PhD, University of Michigan, Ethan Kross, PhD, University of Michigan, Jeffrey Liew, PhD, Texas A&M University, Sonja Lyubomirsky, PhD, University of California, Riverside, Kathleen McDermott, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, Barbara Rothbaum, PhD, Emory University, Timothy Trull, PhD, University of Missouri–Columbia, and Philip David Zelazo, PhD, University of Minnesota.
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences has chosen its 2024 academy members in psychological science: Dolores Albarracín, PhD, University of Pennsylvania, Sian Leah Beilock, PhD, Dartmouth College, W. Thomas Boyce, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, Michael C. Frank, PhD, Stanford University, Michael Meaney, PhD, McGill University, Roxane Cohen Silver, PhD, University of California, Irvine, Nim Tottenham, PhD, Columbia University, and Jeffrey Zacks, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis.
