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PSI CHI: The International Honor Society in Psychology

Awards/Grants

1996-98 Denmark Award Winner

Winners: 1998 | 1997 | 1996

Congratulations to the 1998 Denmark Award Winner!

1998 denmark award winner Psi Chi congratulates Dr. Karen E. Ford, professor of psychology at Mesa State University, for being selected as the winner of the 1998 Psi Chi/Florence L. Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award. This prestigious award is presented annually to one Psi Chi faculty advisor who has made outstanding contributions to Psi Chi and to the field of psychology at the local, regional, and national levels. The award was formally presented to Dr. Ford during the Psi Chi/APA National Convention in San Francisco on August 13, 1998.

Although the Denmark Award is named after a female psychologist, Dr. Ford is the first woman to win this prestigious award since it was inaugurated in 1987. (Dr. Florence Denmark, for whom the award in named, was a longtime Psi Chi faculty advisor and served as president of both Psi Chi and the American Psychological Association.) Dr. Ford is responsible for establishing the Mesa State College Psi Chi Chapter 10 years ago and has served as the chapter’s advisor for 7 of those years. She also has served on the Psi Chi National Council as the Rocky Mountain Regional Vice-President for four years (1991-95). During these past several years, she has not only provided excellent leadership for the Mesa State Chapter, but has also contributed to the leadership of the Psi Chi National Council. In 1996 she received the Rocky Mountain Distinguished Service Award, and this past spring her colleagues at Mesa State bestowed upon her the Distinguished Faculty Award--the most prestigious award the college can grant to one of its faculty members.

Dr. Ford’s strong commitment to Psi Chi and her extensive involvement with the honor society is described in her chapter’s letter of nomination.

Mesa State College's Letter of Nomination for the 1998 Denmark Award

Dear Committee Members:
   The Psi Chi members of the Mesa State College chapter nominate Karen E. Ford, PhD, for the Psi Chi/Florence L. Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award in recognition of her outstanding service as a Psi Chi faculty advisor.
   In 1988, Dr. Ford established the Mesa State College Psi Chi chapter and has served as faculty advisor for seven years (1988-91 and 1995-present). Since its inception, more than 200 Mesa State College students have been inducted into the chapter. Also, from 1991 to 1995 she served as the Rocky Mountain Regional Vice-President of Psi Chi and as a member of the Psi Chi National Council.
   First, we would like to share with you some of Dr. Ford’s recent activities that we feel warrant her receiving this award.

Professional Affiliations

Rocky Mountain Psychological Association (RMPA) from 1987 to the present
Associate member, Division Two, Society for the Teaching of Psychology, American Psychological Association

Psi Chi Committees

Cousins National Chapter Award Committee
Student Travel Awards Committee
National Organization Structure Committee
Lewis Lecture Committee
Member-Judge, 1996 Denmark Award Committee

Other Committee Memberships

G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series Committee, American Psychological Association
Ad Hoc Committee of Faculty Senate on Faculty Performance Evaluation
Chair, Counseling Psychology Search Committee
Sociology Psychology Search Committee
Institutional Salary and Benefits Committee
1997 Social and Behavioral Sciences Peer Committee

Supervision of Student Research Projects

1995: “Conditioned Responding as a Function of Auditory and Visual Classical Conditioning,” (RMPA Best Student Paper Award)
1995: “The Effects of Chronic Paternal Alcohol Exposure on Offspring” (Regional Research Excellence Award)

Book Reviews

Abnormal Psychology, Brief Edition for Brooks/Cole Publishing (three chapters)
Statistics for the Behavioral Sciences, Jaccard & Becker, Brooks/Cole Publishing
Psychology (2nd ed.) for Prentice-Hall

Achievements and Awards

1994 and 1995 RMPA: Organized Psi Chi portion of both programs, as well as chairing several Psi Chi events
1997 RMPA: Participant in Psi Chi Information Exchange and Psi Chi Panel Discussion on “Getting Into and Succeeding at Graduate School”
Speaker for Alpha Chi Spring lecture: “Mental Illness: Is it a Misnomer?”
1996 RMPA Distinguished Service Award

Community Service

Judge, Western Colorado Science Fair
Treasurer, Common Decency Coalition
Volunteer, Mothers March of Dimes

   As one can see, Dr. Ford is dedicated to maintaining the highest standard of excellence in scholarship, as well as advancing the field of psychology.
   Since the beginning of fall semester 1997, under Dr. Ford’s direction, our chapter has accomplished many goals:
   Flood Outreach for Colorado State University Library. When flood waters hit Fort Collins, Colorado State University was in the process of remodeling parts of Morgan Library. During the construction, books, journals, and other works were stored in the basement. The stored items were destroyed. Our Psi Chi chapter solicited, from Mesa State and the community, 1,400 items that were of use to Morgan Library.
   Annual AIDS Walk and AIDS awareness month. Our chapter raised over $400 for the annual fundraiser sponsored by the Western Colorado AIDS foundation. We raised $100 for Warren McKerrow, displayed several AIDS quilt panels in our library, made and handed out red ribbons on campus, and invited a speaker to discuss HIV and AIDS.
   Graduate School Symposium. Our chapter sponsored a symposium on graduate school and careers in psychology for interested students.
   Fundraising. Our chapter has had several fundraising proj-ects, earning approximately $400 to defray the costs of attending the combined WPA/RMPA Convention in the spring.
   Giving Tree. Our chapter is sponsoring a gift collection for a local organization so that children who might otherwise go without will have a gift this year.
   WPA/RMPA Convention. Our chapter has seven members who are submitting research papers or posters to be presented at the convention in the spring. If accepted, those who are presenting will be supported by the chapter.
   Induction. Our chapter inducted 13 new members in November.
   Social Events. Our chapter has had several social events to encourage students and faculty to get to know each other outside the school setting. Among these activities were our annual Freud Party, a Pizza Party at a local restaurant, and a bowling night at a local bowling alley.
   School activities. Our chapter participated in the Orientation Fair at the beginning of the school year, the homecoming parade, and the Minority Fair.
   It is evident from this summary that our chapter has been active not only on campus, but also in the community and in research. Dr. Ford has been an asset to this chapter with her advice, support, and confidence in our abilities. Pushing us to do our best, she has helped our chapter accomplish much in a short period of time. She is an example of integrity, enthusiasm, and dedication.
   This fall, Dr. Ford was instrumental in relocating our psychology lab from the dungeon-like environment of the basement of Albers Hall to a laboratory in Mesa State College’s new Science Center. The process was a major undertaking but resulted in the transformation of an antiquated lab that had equipment Wilhelm Wundt might recognize, into a sleek, modern psychology lab with state-of-the art computers and apparatus. It is Dr. Ford’s hope that this new lab will allow students to engage in more undergraduate research projects and enhance their opportunities to get into graduate school.
   The members of our Psi Chi chapter feel it is a great honor and privilege to nominate Dr. Ford for the Psi Chi/Florence L. Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award. Her dedication, enthusiasm, and commitment to her students, Psi Chi, and the field of psychology serves as a shining example to all of us.

Sincerely,

Mary Schooner, President
Mesa State College Psi Chi Chapter

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Congratulations to the 1997 Denmark Award Winner!

Psi Chi congratulates Dr. Dennis P. Carmody, professor of psychology at Saint Peter's College, for being selected as the winner of the 1997 Psi Chi/Florence L. Denmark National Faculty Advisor Award. This prestigious award is presented annually to one Psi Chi faculty advisor who has made outstanding contributions to Psi Chi and to the field of psychology at the local, regional, and national levels. The award was formally presented to Dr. Carmody during the Psi Chi/APA National Convention in Chicago on August 15, 1997.

Dr. Carmody has served on the faculty of Saint Peter's College for some 20 years, and has also served as department chair. As a teacher, he is widely known for his inspiration of undergraduate student researchers, many of whom have gone on to careers in scientific psychology. He is also a noted researcher who has published over 50 articles spanning several areas of psychology--including clinical, experimental, vision, and radiology. In Octover 1996 he was the keynote speaker for the Fourth International Symposium on Digital Imaging in Dental Radiology, held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Other honors for Dr. Carmody include his receiving in 1996 the first Psi Chi/Thelma Hunt Award, to empirically study the perennial question, "What impact do student research presentations have on one's later career?" Dr. Carmody also began serving as Psi Chi's Eastern Regional Vice-President on July 1, 1997.

Dr. Carmody's deep commitment and enormous involvement within Psi Chi is described in his chapter's letter of nomination, which is printed below.

Letter of Nomination for 1997 Denmark Award

In 1985, Dr. Carmody helped initiate the Saint Peter's Psi Chi chapter and is listed as one of its charter members. He served as the Psi Chi faculty advisor from 1988 until 1996 and over those years has built up the chapter's membership to 120 members.
    One of his key strengths has been his ability to engage students in original research to encourage them to present publicly. Many times these projects are entirely student oriented. Dr. Carmody assists in these projects, but does not stake claim to the students' ideas. His reward is the satisfaction of knowing that these students have an experience that is impossible to get out of a textbook or a faculty-oriented research project.
    At Saint Peter's, Dr. Carmody has organized three Psi Chi-sponsored undergraduate research conferences over the last five years. Student participation in these conferences has always been voluntary, and most of the presentations concern student-centered research. He organized an alumni reunion and dinner to celebrate the 10th anniversary of our chapter. Sixty people attended this event, including the guest of honor, Dr. Harold Takooshian, Psi Chi's Eastern Regional Vice-President.
    Dr. Carmody has coordinated group trips to conferences held at Dominican College, Fordham University, City University of New York, and Mount Saint Mary's College, as well as to EPA, the Psi Chi Miniconvention, and APA. These trips are important, since they allow students to experience psychology outside the confines of the traditional classroom setting.
    He has collaborated with students and presented work jointly with them, gradually introducing them to the world of research and the life of the scientist. With Psi Chi students, he presented at the International Congress of Psychology in Australia and published a chapter in an edited volume. In 1995, also with students, he presented at EPA, APA, and the Eighth European Conference on Eye Movements in England. These are just a few of the many research projects with which Dr. Carmody has been involved.
    At the regional level, Dr. Carmody has presented several papers at Psi Chi workshops held at EPA and NEPA. Topics valuable to Psi Chi advisors included: forming a research honors program, honors research, and transforming student research into presentations or publications. In 1993, he instituted the Independent Psychology Research Honors Program at Saint Peter's, which is now a model for other honors programs at the college. He chaired a symposium at the 1996 EPA meeting entitled "Student Presentations and Publications: the Impact on Students, Faculty and Departments."
    Dr. Carmody has sponsored and coauthored papers with undergraduates at regional meetings. These include papers presented by students at Dominican College in 1988, at Mount Saint Mary's College in 1995, and at EPA in 1993, 1995, and 1996.
    For the last four years he has participated in the annual Greater New York Conference on Social Research, hosted by Fordham University and the City University of New York. During that time he sponsored no less than 12 student presentations. He spent a considerable time reviewing submissions. For the last two years he served as chair of the selection committee.
    In 1994, Dr. Carmody served Psi Chi at the national level as a reviewer of papers submitted for the Guilford Award. In 1995 Dr. Stephen Davis invited him to be a reviewer for the new Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research. In 1995, he organized a group of student Psi Chi volunteers to serve as hosts at the Psi Chi Miniconvention, encouraged and advised them to write articles for the Fall 1995 edition of the Psi Chi Newsletter. His article on undergraduate research appeared in the Spring 1996 edition of the Psi Chi Newsletter.
    As faculty advisor, Dr. Carmody has encouraged community service by organizing our chapter to collect clothes for the needy and Christmas toys for their children. These items were delivered to homes for battered women, local shelters, and hospitals.
    In addition to serving Psi Chi, Dr. Carmody is a full professor in the department. He is a versatile scientist who conducts research in diverse areas including eye movements, perception, biofeedback, and autism. He is also a licensed psychologist.
    If the Denmark Faculty Advisor Award is about commitment, perseverance, dedication, and service to Psi Chi, we feel that Dr. Carmody deserves the award. And if the Denmark Award is meant to honor someone who has stoked the intellectual fires in the minds of our youth, then the committee needs to look no further in their effort to find such an individual.

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Letter of Nomination for 1996 Denmark Award

Where it is obvious that many faculty throughout the nation are deserving of this prestigious award, I can't imagine another person who continually and unconditionally propels Psi Chi's purpose to encourage, stimulate, and maintain excellence in scholarship of the individual members in all fields, particularly in psychology, and to advance the science of psychology, with no desire for self-recognition. Without fail, Dr. Robinson is working behind the scenes to ensure that we, the officers and members of Psi Chi, receive the recognition and credit he feels we deserve. The following account of Dr. Robinson's extraordinary contributions as Psi Chi faculty advisor clearly illuminates his unwavering devotion to the purposes and ideals of Psi Chi.
    Teaching part time at both Texas Christian University and North Texas State University in the field of psychology, Dr. Robinson still finds time to be the consulting sport psychologist for the TCU athletic department, as well as the advisor to over 250 students. In this capacity, it seems as though he is possibly spreading himself too thin; somehow, however, he finds the compassion, wit, sincerity, and expertise to skillfully guide each student in the appropriate direction. There is never a time when a meeting between the two of us goes uninterrupted by several other students seeking his assistance; the door to his office is literally always open.
    Between teaching at two universities, consulting TCU athletes, and engaging in various other academic endeavors, Dr. Robinson has managed to help turn an almost nonexistent chapter of Psi Chi into the number one chapter in the nation; the TCU Chapter received the 1995 Ruth Cousins National Chapter Award. In 1989 he became our Psi Chi advisor and resurrected the Student Psychology Convention by inviting Ruth Cousins as our featured speaker. The Student Psychology Convention is a campuswide event that has grown in attendance from approximately 30 in 1989 to 100 attendees in 1994. This year we are expecting between 130-150 participants due to the prominence of our honored guest, Dr. Mortimer Mishkin, chief of the Laboratory of Neuropsychology and associate director for basic research at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Maryland. We have Dr. Robinson's devout interest in the convention to thank for this year's honored guest speaker. It was while in New York, accepting the Ruth Cousins Chapter Award at the American Psychological Association's National Convention, that Dr. Robinson met and invited Dr. Mishkin to be our featured speaker. Aside from being the fire beneath a once-dormant event that benefits both psychology and Psi Chi on a local, regional, and national level, Dr. Robinson is responsible for improving various other aspects of the TCU Psi Chi Chapter, helping mold us into the number one chapter in the nation.
    By proposing a Psi Chi Liaison Committee, which is now an active part of the psychology department, Dr. Robinson has helped establish a productive working relationship between Psi Chi and the department. Our assistance is offered in the evaluation of prospective faculty members and in maintaining the departmental display cases and bulletin boards. Dr. Robinson's insistence of a constant interaction between Psi Chi and the department chair has helped to establish our chapter of Psi Chi as a highly depended on and respected campus organization.
    In addition to being actively involved in departmental affairs, Dr. Robinson is constantly interacting with the TCU Honors Department. Several times he has served as a panelist on the Honors Program Seminar, representing and recruiting members into Psi Chi. For various events, such as our homeless shelter book drive, we have invited students, faculty, and administrators of the honors program to participate, further facilitating a working relationship between the two honors organizations.
    At a regional level, Dr. Robinson's continuing interest in the Southwestern Psychological Association has greatly increased the level of TCU student involvement in that organization. He has sponsored several dozen students, including myself, for membership into SWPA, and has conducted research with 14 Psi Chi members who later presented at SWPA in Psi Chi paper sessions. During the SWPA Convention, Dr. Robinson introduces students to faculty from other universities to facilitate graduate school contacts for Psi Chi members. It is Dr. Robinson's belief that Psi Chi can have an important role in meetings such as SWPA by establishing contacts to enhance attendance at our convention, by starting joint ventures with other chapters, as well as by promoting graduate school preparation.
    Nationally speaking, Dr. Robinson has contributed several articles to the Psi Chi Newsletter on hosting student conventions and on improving contact between the psychology department and Psi Chi. His most recent article, which appeared in the Fall 1995 issue, is a touching recollection of April 11, 1995, when Psi Chi National President Stephen Davis announced at our Spring Induction Banquet that the TCU Chapter had won the Ruth Hubbard Cousins National Chapter Award. In Dr. Robinson's words, "It is one thing to read about such an award, and even applying for it is largely an intellectual exercise. But it is quite another thing to actually receive one." Winning the award consequently led to a series of other engagements where both Dr. Robinson and past president Julie Bauer were given the opportunity to share their insights on becoming a successful chapter. At the first Psi Chi Miniconvention, before receiving the Cousins Award at APA, Dr. Robinson participated in the Higher Ground workshop series as a discussant in the chapter-level workshop entitled "Chapter Vitality: How Can We Make Our Chapter More Vibrant and Long-Lasting?"
    It is obvious that Dr. Robinson sincerely "practices what he preaches" to the masses. It is his inspiring motivation and active involvement in Psi Chi at a local, regional, and national level that has facilitated the successes and recognition of the Texas Christian University Chapter of Psi Chi. It is in this tradition of excellence that we feel it necessary to recognize the accomplishments and drive of the man behind the scenes, Dr. Michael C. Robinson, by nominating him for the faculty advisor award. We greatly appreciate your sincere consideration of a professor, mentor, advisor, and friend who is held as an unconditional inspiration to Psi Chi members and other students alike.