Narina Nunez Receives UW's Duke Humphrey Award

April 26, 2006 -- University of Wyoming Psychology Professor Narina Nunez, recognized nationally for her contributions to the field of children and the law, is the recipient of the George Duke Humphrey Distinguished Faculty Award.

The Humphrey Award, named for UW's 13th president who served from 1945-1964, recognizes teaching effectiveness, distinction in scholarly work, and distinguished service to the university and state.

Professor Nunez is well known for her work in the field of psychology and law, and the field of criminal justice. Her primary specialization is developmental psychology, which she applies in her investigations of issues involving children and the law.

“He work is quite interdisciplinary in nature, addressing issues relevant to law, criminal justice, social policy, and several subdisciplines of psychology,” says Bette L. Bottoms, director of undergraduate studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Bottoms has served with Nunez on the editorial board of a national journal and on the executive committee of an American Psychological Association section on child maltreatment. “For 15 years, Narina has conducted research to understand people’s perceptions of witnesses, including exploring jurors' perceptions of children and of juveniles who are tried as adults.”

Cited as a principal or co-principal investigator on more than a dozen peer-reviewed grants and contracts, Nunez is a regular consultant/reviewer for the National Science Foundation, and was appointed by the governor to be a member of the state's Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. Her research has been published in more than 20 prestigious journals.

Students continually recognize her teaching abilities. Members of the senior honor society, Mortar Board, have several times selected her as a “Top Prof,” recognizing professors who go beyond normal classroom expectations to help their students succeed, both in college and later in their careers. Nunez has many times been named among the top 10 College of Arts and Sciences professors.

Graduate students frequently praise her mentoring skills, and many of her previous Ph.D. students have gone on to become successful faculty members at other institutions. She has for many years been active in designing and modifying the undergraduate curriculum along with the graduate requirements and procedures, and she has been involved in graduate student recruiting.

Faculty within the Department of Psychology praise her administrative abilities.

“She has dealt with each task effectively, promptly and with a sense of humor,” says Professor William MacLean. “Narina’s enthusiasm and dedication have carried the day.”

While serving as head of the Department of Psychology, she assisted the Department of Criminal Justice through a transition period as it advanced from a program to a free-standing department. She fostered a junior faculty mentoring program within criminal justice, and developed a research group for untenured faculty, providing a supportive environment to explore research ideas, receive feedback on manuscripts, and discuss conference presentations.

“Not many people are willing to mentor their own faculty and graduate students, chair their own department and then take another one under their wing and do so with flying colors, but Narina has,” says Adrienne Freng, assistant professor in the Department of Criminal Justice.

Among her community service accomplishments, she was the primary force and author of a $2 million Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention grant that established a teen center in Laramie. She also worked with the State Health Department to fund the Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center. She continued to work with the State’s Division of Substance Abuse by responding to their federal mandate to monitor compliance with laws restricting tobacco sales to minors.

A UW faculty member since 1987, Nunez earned a B.A. degree (1980) in general psychology at State University of New York at Cortland; and received her M.S. (1984) and Ph.D. (1987) degrees at Cornell University.

Photo

Top Professor -- University of Wyoming Psychology Professor Narina Nunez, center, discusses research progress during a weekly meeting with graduate students Jennifer Gray of Gaffney, S.C., and Andre Kehn of Schwarzenbek, Germany. Nunez received the university’s Humphrey Award recognizing teaching effectiveness, distinction in scholarly work, and distinguished service to the university and state. (UW Photo)

Posted on Wednesday, April 26, 2006