Professors of Psychology Gigi Awad and Kevin Cokley were selected as the recipients of the 2022 University Diversity and Social Transformation Professorships (UDSTP). According to the University Record, the UDSTP "recognizes and rewards senior faculty members for their outstanding contributions to excellence through their commitment to promoting diversity, equity and inclusion with their scholarship, teaching, service and engagement."
The Record explains that Gigi Awad "is nationally recognized for her scholarship on racism and prejudice toward Middle Eastern and North African Americans and African Americans. She studies the psychology of Arab/MENA Americans and the causes and effects of racism toward the Arab/MENA American and African American communities. Her scholarship addresses important issues concerning MENA American experiences and is relevant for addressing social inequality more broadly. She also is active in public engagement and has authored numerous op-eds related to racism, given talks to community organizations, and worked with the U.S. Census on its racial categorization of MENA Americans."
Kevin Cokley, The Record says, “has a record of outstanding contributions to DEI in every aspect of his portfolio of teaching, research and service. As a prolific and nationally recognized leader in the study of African American psychology, he is known for his work on academic self-concept and for challenging the notion that African American students are anti-intellectual, and for having developed an alternative theoretical framework to understand African American students’ academic achievement. His research has culminated in more than 75 peer-reviewed publications and book chapters and two published books.”
Read more at the University Record
