Nominations for Psychology's Distinguished Alumni Awards

Call for Nominations

The Department of Psychology at the University of Minnesota is pleased to invite nominations for its awards program: the University of Minnesota Psychology Distinguished Alumni Award.

We made our first awards in the 2017-18 academic year. See this page for previous winners. We anticipate making two awards in 2023 (and annually thereafter). The two awards will honor distinguished alumni from our undergraduate and graduate programs, respectively.

Nominations should include:

  • A nomination letter that includes a brief description of the candidate's background, accomplishments, and why the candidate is deserving of the award (1-2 pages should be sufficient).
  • The candidate's resumé or CV (if available; this is optional).

Please note that if you submitted a nomination in a previous year, and the person nominated was not selected, we will continue to consider the person you nominated as a candidate for the award this year and in subsequent years. You do not need to resubmit the nomination.

The nomination deadline is November 30, 2023.

Nominations will be reviewed by our department’s Distinguished Alumni Awards Committee, which will forward recommendations to the department chair. Award winners will be announced early in 2024. Award winners will be invited to a ceremony to receive the award in the spring of 2024 and will have the opportunity to meet with department faculty and students. (Details of this event will be forthcoming). In addition, the awards will be publicized throughout the University and its various social media channels and will be commemorated within the department.

Selection Criteria for the Awards

  • The awards will recognize distinguished achievement, in the many and varied forms that achievement may take, among our alumni.
  • For some alumni, especially our PhD alumni, the awards may recognize distinguished achievements in research and scholarship, whether in academic or non-academic settings.
  • For other alumni, both undergraduate and graduate, the awards may recognize distinguished achievements and/or leadership in their chosen professions, as well as notable humanitarian efforts.
  • The criteria for these awards will be inclusive, capturing the diversity of distinguished achievements possible by individuals educated in our department.
  • Priority will be given to individuals who are not currently appointed at the University of Minnesota.
  • This award program is not designed to align with fundraising goals, although department donors may be nominated.
  • Self-nominations are discouraged.

Submitting a Nomination

Nomination materials should be submitted to the department chair, Professor Jeffry Simpson using the email address for awards nominations: psyawards@umn.edu.
 

Nominations may also be submitted by postal mail to:

Professor Jeffry Simpson, Chair
Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota
75 East River Parkway
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Questions

Please contact Stephen Fiksdal by phone at 612-625-7444 or by email at psyawards@umn.edu.