The Department of Psychology held its annual Class Day event on Monday, June 5, 2017, to celebrate graduating seniors, honors recipients, and award winners.
Festivities were held in the Frist Campus Center where graduates, families, and friends congratulated this profound accomplishment.
During the celebrations, the Department recognized the following Class of 2017 Honors recipients.
Highest Honors
Jennifer Bu, Bear Goldstein, Diana Hernandez, and Aneesh Rai
High Honors
Sofia Hiltner, Katharine Holmes, Kelsey Lowman, and Duc Nguyen
Honors
Gaby Barber, Amy Freyberger, Sydney Hausman, Nicole Loncar, Julia Perlmutter, Teresa Rufin, Julia Schorn, and Michael Zhang
Phi Beta Kappa Society
The following Honors recipients were also elected into the Phi Beta Kappa Society (the oldest national honorary scholastic society, founded in 1776): Jennifer Bu and Aneesh Rai
Awards and Prizes
Department of Psychology Graduate Teaching Award
Each year, the Department of Psychology sponsors a teaching award to recognize and honor a graduate student who has made significant contributions to undergraduate teaching in the Department. We are happy to report that this year, Taylor Webb, a graduating cognitive-area student, has been recognized by the faculty as the 2017 recipient of the Department of Psychology Teaching Award.
The Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize
The Miller-Schroeder Memorial Prize is given in memory of the two psychology majors killed at Kent State University in the spring of 1970. It is awarded to the graduating senior whose thesis best exemplifies the application of the psychological methods to the study of a problem of social significance. Class of 2017 member Aneesh Rai’s thesis, advised by Professor Joel Cooper and entitled, “Selective Justice: Discrimination Against Muslims in the Criminal Context,” was selected as the 2017 winner of this prize.
The Edward E. Jones Memorial Prize
This prize is awarded to the graduating student whose senior thesis is judged to be the most outstanding work in social psychology, broadly construed. In keeping with Professor Jones' own interests, special consideration is given to theses that report innovative empirical research, although theses of a purely theoretical character are also considered. Class of 2017 member Teresa Rufin’s thesis, advised by Professor Eldar Shafir and entitled, “Money on my Mind: How Financial Scarcity Affects Dietary Decisions” was selected as the 2017 recipient of this prize.
The George A. Miller Prize in Cognitive Science
This prize is given annually to the best interdisciplinary senior thesis in cognitive science. Class of 2017 member Katharine Holmes’ thesis, advised by Professor Yael Niv and entitled, “How Risk Preference and Perception of Action Riskiness in Fencing Affect Learning and Strategy of Fencing Play,” was selected as the 2017 winner of this prize.
Senior Thesis Prize in Clinical Psychology
The Department of Psychology’s Senior Thesis Prize in Clinical Psychology is awarded to the graduating senior or seniors whose thesis is judged to be the most outstanding thesis in clinical psychology, broadly construed. Generally, it will be awarded to the student(s) whose thesis best exemplifies the application of empirical methods to the study of psychopathology or the prevention or treatment of psychopathology. Class of 2017 member Amy Freyberger’s thesis, advised by Professor Adele Goldberg and entitled, “Socially Interactive Learning Avatar Software (SiLAS): Investigating the Efficacy of a New Social Skills Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders,” was selected as the 2017 recipient of this prize.
The Howard Crosby Warren Prize in Psychology
Funded by an endowment established by the bequest of Catherine C. Warren, the Howard Crosby Warren Prizes are awarded annually to the senior concentrators in Psychology that are selected by the Department as the most worthy recipients on the basis of scholarly attainment and good character. The following four Class of 2017 concentrators have been selected to receive this award for 2017: Jennifer Bu, Bear Goldstein, Diana Hernandez, and Aneesh Rai.
The Dean Hank Dobin Prize in Community-Based Independent Work
This University award is presented to students whose thesis best engages a community audience, whether through extensive research, policy recommendations, or new information and analysis. Class of 2017 member Teresa Rufin has been selected as the 2017 first-prize recipient of this prestigious award.
Congratulations and best wishes for all the future brings!