Faculty Achievements

MORAWSKI, MOON RECEIVE MELLON GRANT FOR CULTURE STUDY
Jill Morawski, director, Center for the Humanities, professor of psychology, and Don Moon, dean of the Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Programs, the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Professor in the College of Social Studies, professor of government and tutor in the College of Social Studies; received a $142,000 Mellon Foundation grant on Oct. 2. The award will fund the John E. Sawyer Seminar on “Comparative Study of Cultures.” (11/09)

SHUSTERMAN RECEIVES NSF GRANT FOR LANGUAGE STUDY
Anna Shusterman, assistant professor of psychology, received a grant worth $716,227 from the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) program, Shusterman's project is titled "The role of language in children’s acquisition of number concept." The grant will be applied over five years. (read more) (8/09)

DIERKER, ROSE RECEIVE NIH GRANT FOR SMOKING STUDY
Lisa Dierker, professor of psychology, and Jennifer Rose, research associate professor of psychology, received a grant worth $521,938 from the National Institute of Health/National Institute on Drug Abuse. The grant was issued under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Dierker and Rose are researching "Individual Differences in Smoking Exposure and Nicotine Dependence Sensitivity." The grant will be applied over two years. (6/09)

SEAMON RECEIVED BINSWANGER PRIZE FOR EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING
John Seamon, professor of psychology, professor of neuroscience and behavior, received a Binswanger Prize for Excellence in Teaching at commencement. . Each year alumni nominate a professor for this prestigious award. (read more) (5/09)

DIERKER RECEIVED HONORARY DEGREE FROM WESLEYAN
Lisa Dierker, professor of psychology, was conferred the honorary degree of Master of Arts ad eundem gradum at commencement. This degree is awarded to members of the faculty who are not graduates of Wesleyan at the bachelor's level and who have attained the rank of full professor. (read more) (5/09)

PLOUS AWARDED $700,000 NSF GRANT TO TRANSFORM SPN WEBSITE
Scott Plous, professor of psychology, received a five-year grant for $700,000 from the National Science Foundation for the Social Psychology Network. Plous founded the web-based presence in 1996.The grant will be used to transform the site into a full featured social networking service for visitors and its approximately 2,000 members across the world. (read more)  (5/09)

BARTH, SULLIVAN '08, STARR '07 CO-AUTHOR NUMERICAL ESTIMATION ARTICLE
Hilary Barth, assistant professor of psychology, assistant professor of neuroscience and behavior, co-authored an article with Jessica Sullivan '08 and Ariel (Ballinger) Starr '07. Their work on children's numerical estimation will appear in the journal Cognitive Development in 2009. (4/09)

STIEGEL-MOORE QUOTED IN ARTICLE
Ruth Striegel-Moore, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, professor and chair of psychology, states that only a minority of people with an eating disorder receive treatment specifically for it, as quoted in the online edition of the APA magazine Monitor on Psychology. (read more) (4/09)

DIERKER RECEIVES $50,000 RESEARCH GRANT FROM THE MCMANUS CHARITABLE TRUST
Lisa Dierker, professor of psychology, has received a $50,000 research grant from the Peter F. McManus Charitable Trust. The awarded will support her work focusing on individual differences in the development of addiction. This research is aimed at identifying youth at greatest risk for dependence at various levels of alcohol and tobacco exposure. (ends 12/09) (1/09)

PLOUS FEATURED IN ARTICLE ON ACTION TEACHING
Scott Plous, professor of psychology, is featured in an article on action teaching in the APA magazine Monitor on Psychology. Plous coined the term "action teaching" in 2000 to refer to teaching that leads not only to a better understanding of psychology but to a more just, humane, and peaceful world, and he manages the web site ActionTeaching.org. (read more) (12/08)

STRIEGEL-MOORE HONORED BY PSYCHOLOGY ASSOCIATION
Ruth Striegel-Moore, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, professor and chair of psychology, is the recipient of the New England Psychological Association's (NEPA) Distinguished Contribution Award. (read more)  (11/08)

SHUSTERMAN STUDIES EMERGING SIGN LANGUAGE
Anna Shusterman, assistant professor of psychology, and Lisa Drennan '09 observed how the deaf communicate with Nicaraguan Sign Language. (read more). (9/08)

PLOUS WINS CHARLES L. BREWER DISTINGUISHED TEACHING OF PSYCHOLOGY AWARD
Scott Plous,  professor of psychology, won the APF (American Psychological Foundation) 2008 Charles L. Brewer Distinguished Teaching of Psychology Award. This award recognizes a significant career of contributions of a psychologist who has a proven track record as an exceptional teacher of psychology. At the APA convention in Boston in August, Plous will be presented the award at the APF/APA awards ceremony. (read more) (read more about Brewer Award) (9/08)

STRIEGEL-MOORE SELECTED TO REVISE MENTAL DISORDER MANUAL
Ruth Striegel-Moore, the Walter A. Crowell University Professor of the Social Sciences, professor and chair of psychology, was named to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) group. The work group members are composed of more than 120 world-renowned scientific researchers and clinicians with expertise in neuroscience, biology, genetics, statistics, epidemiology, public health, nursing, pediatrics and social work. As a member, Striegel-Moore will help revise a manual for diagnosis of mental disorders. (5/08)

DIERKER AWARDED $1M FROM NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH
Lisa Dierker, associate professor of psychology, received a four-year grant from the National Institutes of Health Roadmap Initiative for her research on "New Statistical Models for Intensive Longitudinal Data." The grant is being split between Wesleyan and Penn State, and is worth $1 million. (read more) (1/08)