The Psi Chi Awards Committee is pleased to announce the 2006-07 winners of the Regional Faculty Advisor Awards. Each winning advisor is presented a $500 check and a plaque to display in his or her department. The awards are intended to identify outstanding Psi Chi faculty advisors and to promote the purpose of Psi Chi. Listed below is a summary of the backgrounds and accomplishments of these worthy winners.

Barbara Kucinski, PhD (bio)
University of Pittsburgh (PA)

Midwestern Region
Cynthia Bane, PhD (bio)
Wartburg College (IA)

Southeastern Region
Daniel W. McNeil, PhD (bio)
West Virginia University

|| BIOGRAPHIES OF WINNERS:

Dr. Barbara Kucinski has been a member of Psi Chi for a number of years (never mind how many) having been inducted into the organization as an undergraduate student. She received her PhD in psychology from the University of Pittsburgh after studying principles of learning (classical and operant conditioning processes), interaction between psychological factors and health, and the interaction between environmental cues and addictive behaviors. She is currently teaching full-time in the Psychology Department at the University of Pittsburgh. In the fall of 2002, Dr. Kucinski joined Dr. Bruce Goldstein as coadvisor of the Pitt Psi Chi Chapter and learned from him how to effectively advise the officers and members. The following year, she took over the reins as faculty advisor and has enjoyed every moment. She is committed to her students and all types of undergraduate education. This includes the educational experience of leadership skill development that she tries to facilitate in the Psi Chi officers and members.

Dr. Cynthia Bane received her undergraduate degree in psychology from Luther College (IA) and a master's degree and PhD in social psychology from Miami University (FL). She completed a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Cancer Prevention Research Center at the University of Rhode Island. She held a research position at Ohio State University and taught courses at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, before joining the faculty at Wartburg College in 2003. At Wartburg, she teaches courses in introductory psychology, research methods and data analysis, social psychology, health psychology, and advanced topics in psychology. Dr. Bane has been the advisor of Wartburg's chapter of Psi Chi since 2004. She is committed to helping students develop research skills by including them as coinvestigators on her research in the areas of social and health psychology as well as advising students on their independent research projects.

Dr. Daniel W. McNeil is a professor of psychology at West Virginia University (WVU) and is an Eberly Professor of Public Service. Initiated into Psi Chi in 1977 as an undergraduate (New College) at the University of Alabama, McNeil also earned his MA and PhD degrees there. Dr. McNeil has served as faculty advisor to Psi Chi at WVU for over 4 years. A licensed clinical psychologist, he is a clinical researcher in health psychology (including behavioral dentistry) studying the experience and expression of emotion—particularly anxiety and pain. He is involved in the training of undergraduate and graduate students as director of his Anxiety, Psychophysiology, and Pain Research Laboratory. His work is interdisciplinary; he has an additional academic appointment in the WVU Department of Dental Practice and Rural Health and is active in the WVU Native American Studies program. Dr. McNeil has been recognized nationally for his role as a mentor and for his service activities.