Posted on May 11, 2020 at 12:00 AM, updated July 13, 2022 at 11:31 AM Print
The Department of Psychology honors our outstanding students and instructors each spring semester. We are pleased to announce this year's recipients of the Department of Psychology's Outstanding Psychology Undergraduate Student Award and our Outstanding Teaching Awards for the 2019-2020 academic year.
2020 Outstanding Psychology Undergraduate Student:
Victoria Oeftering
Victoria attended Miami University and Tri-C before coming to CSU. She has a passion for psychology, and is adept at critically evaluating ideas and applying sophisticated methodologies to answer real-world questions about the mind. She shines as a superlative student, with 137 credit hours earned and a cumulative GPA of a perfect 4.0! She is an active member in Dr. Vail's research lab, where she assists in ongoing research and has completed her Psychology Honors Thesis. Victoria has outstanding academic qualifications and contributions to the university and wider community.
Outstanding Teaching Awards
Maria Rowlett
Maria received her undergraduate and Masters degree from CSU, and thus has been a member of the CSU family as both student and instructor. Maria has an excellent teaching record across a broad variety of courses in the Department of Psychology over the past 12 years, with strong student evaluations year after year. She has also served as a McNair Scholar Mentor, and advises several undergraduate and graduate student researchers--with some leading to presentations and publications. Her nomination was strongly supported by senior faculty from CSU's Psych Dept and elsewhere, and reflects more than a decade of outstanding achievement in teaching.
Dr. Kathleen McNamara
Dr. McNamara is the Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs in the College of Sciences and Health Professions and a Professor in the Department of Psychology. Kathy has served CSU and the Department of Psychology in exceptional ways, including her high quality teaching. She has an impressive teaching record, with high student and peer evaluations across all of her courses. She has led curriculum changes, including obtaining approval for the School of Psychology Specialist degree program, providing training and program assessment, and routinely provides on-call mentorship. Her nomination was supported by an impressive array of current and former faculty and students.