Five Women Scholars at State Universities Honored With Prestigious Awards

Gloria Billingsley, an associate professor in the department of public policy and administration at Jackson State University in Mississippi, received the Donald Stone Award from the American Society for Public Administration. The award was presented for outstanding service to the society at the group’s annual convention in Denver.

Dr. Billingsley taught at Jackson State from 2002 to 2005 and rejoined the faculty in 2010. She holds a bachelor’s degree in management, an MBA, and a Ph.D. in public administration, all from Jackson State University.

Kristina Olson, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Washington, has been awarded the Alan T. Waterman Award from the National Science Foundation. The award honors a scholar under the age of 40 or who is within 10 years of earning a doctoral degree. Dr. Olson is the first psychologist to win the award and the first woman to be honored since 2004. Dr. Olson is being recognized for her longitudinal study of transgender children.

Dr. Olson joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 2013, after teaching at Yale University. She is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Sandra McGee, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Iowa, has been selected to receive the 2017 Director’s Community Service Award from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Dr. McGee is being honored for her work to build relationships between the police and the African American community in Des Moines.

Dr. McGee is a graduate of Upper Iowa University in Fayette. She holds a master of social work degree from the University of Iowa and a Ph.D. from Iowa State University.

Janice Jackson, a professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, was given the Manuel M. Album Award by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. The award is given to an individual who has made the greatest contribution to the oral health of children with special needs.

Dr. Jackson joined the faculty at the university in 2000. She holds a doctorate in dental medicine from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Deborah J. Wiebe, a professor of psychological sciences and director of the graduate program in health psychology at the University of California, Merced, has been awarded the Dennis Drotar Distinguished Research Award in Pediatric Psychology from the Society of Pediatric Psychology. The award recognizes excellence and significant contributions in establishing the scientific base of pediatric psychology.

Dr. Wiebe joined the faculty at the university in 2013 after teaching at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She holds a master of public health degree and a Ph.D. in clinical health psychology from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.