Vonnie C. McLoyd, Ewart A. C. Thomas Collegiate Professor of Psychology, professor of psychology and professor emerita of AfroAmerican and African studies in LSA, was named the 2024 recipient of the National Academy of Sciences’ Atkinson Prize in Psychological and Cognitive Sciences. The Atkinson Prize is presented to honor significant advances in the psychological and cognitive sciences with important implications for formal and systematic theory in these fields. NAS said McLoyd’s groundbreaking work “delineates how economic factors such as poverty, unemployment, and financial insecurity influence family life and adolescent development in ways that have intergenerational consequences.”
Melanie S. Sanford, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor, and the Moses Gomberg Distinguished University Professor of Chemistry, and professor of chemistry in LSA, has received the 2024 Janssen Prize for Creativity in Organic Synthesis. A world leader in the fields of organic synthesis and catalysis, she has made outstanding contributions in developing novel methods for C-H functionalization and fluorination, in mechanistic studies of high valent organometallic complexes, and in designing organic electrolytes for redox flow batteries as modern energy storage systems. Sanford’s research efforts have had a major impact on the field of transition metal-catalyzed conversion of carbon-hydrogen bonds into new functional groups. Her work demonstrating the relevance of high valent group ten metal complexes to C–H functionalization catalysis has been foundational to the field.
Christopher Lewis, director of graduate programs at UM-Flint, was recently named the recipient of the 2024 NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education “Pillar of the Profession” award. It honors student affairs professionals who have provided significant service to NASPA through regional or national leadership roles, created a lasting impact on the institutions at which they have worked, and demonstrated sustained, lifetime professional distinction in student affairs or higher education. NASPA is the leading association for the advancement, health and sustainability of the student affairs profession.
Geoff Chatas, executive vice president and chief financial officer, has joined the Grand Canyon Conservancy’s board. The conservancy is the official nonprofit partner of Grand Canyon National Park. A press release from the conservancy said his experience as a higher education administrator has afforded him broad exposure on how to help a nonprofit reach its goals and thrive. His love for the Grand Canyon began with a college road trip in 1985, and he has returned annually for more than two decades.
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