Social Sciences

Brittany Friedman, assistant professor of sociology, has received a Visiting Scholar Fellowship with the University of Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona, Spain, stationed in the university’s Department of Law during summer 2025. Friedman, who co-founded the Captive Money Lab and co-leads a cross-national study on inmate reimbursement practices that examines the evolution of pay-to-stay policies, debt and inequality, will present her research and advance her next book project.

Thomas Chaney, professor of economics, has been elected to the 2024 class of Fellows of the Econometric Society, recognizing his significant contributions to economic theory through the application of statistical and mathematical tools. The society, an international body advancing econometric practices, confers this lifetime honor on scholars with notable publications that address key economic problems. Fellows play a crucial role in guiding the society’s direction and electing its leadership, reflecting their influence and authority within the field.

Steven Lopez, professor of psychology and social work, received the 2025 James S. Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award for Transformative Scholarship from the Association for Psychological Science. The award recognizes his groundbreaking research on cultural and diversity issues, particularly in improving mental health care for marginalized communities. Lopez’s work advances understanding of sociocultural influences on mental illness and provides vital models for reducing disparities in care. His contributions align with the award’s mission to honor research that enhances knowledge of racial and ethnic diversity, equity and inclusion.

Alexandra Brewer, assistant professor of sociology, was awarded the Donald W. Light Article Award from the American Sociological Association for “Painful Feelings: Opioids as Tools for Avoiding Emotional Labor in Hospital Work,” published in June 2023 in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. The award is given in alternate years to a book or journal article published in the preceding two years that employs the concepts and methods of medical sociology to an applied issue or problem of significance. Brewer’s article, based on a 21-month hospital ethnography, examines how opioids are used to manage clinician emotional labor and shape patient care and workplace dynamics.

Hajar Yazdiha, assistant professor of sociology, was awarded the Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book for The Struggle for the People’s King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement (Princeton University Press, 2023). Granted by the American Sociological Association, the award honors the best books in the field of cultural sociology that are notable for their originality, intellectual rigor and contribution to the discipline. Yazdiha’s work critically examines how revisionist appropriation of civil rights memory by various political groups distorts historical understanding and perpetuates racial inequality.

Hanna Damasio, University Professor, professor of psychology and neurology, and Dana Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, and Antonio Damasio, University Professor, professor of psychology, philosophy and neurology, and David Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, were honored with the Neuropsychology Global Ambassador Award at the first Global Neuropsychology Congress in Porto, Portugal. This prestigious award acknowledges their exceptional achievements and enduring influence on global neuroscience research and education. The Damasios' groundbreaking research has significantly advanced the understanding of brain processes underlying affect, decision-making, consciousness and language.

Jody Agius Vallejo, associate professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity, has been awarded the 2023 Award for Public Sociology in International Migration. Conferred by the American Sociological Association, the award seeks to underscore the need to foster scholarly collaboration toward a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted causes and consequences of international migration as well as the assimilation of immigrants within host societies. Vallejo was recognized for her achievements in pioneering empirical investigations pertaining to the intricate dynamics of international migration policy.

Evelyn Alsultany, professor of American studies and ethnicity, received the 2023 Richard A. Yarborough Mentoring Award from the American Studies Association. The award, which honors Yarborough’s legacy as an American historian and literary critic, recognizes a scholar for their exceptional commitment and excellence in mentoring and advising other minority scholars and underrepresented faculty.

Jefferey Sellers, professor of political science and international relations and spatial sciences, has received the Daniel Elazar Distinguished Scholar Award from the Federalism and Intergovernmental Relations Section of the American Political Science Association. Citing his most recent book, Multilevel Democracy: How Local Institutions and Civil Society Shape the Modern State (Cambridge University Press, 2020), the section noted how Sellers’ work “truly spans the globe, [with the] unifying theme to approach problems and solutions through the eyes of the local community” and inspires young scholars.