March 29, 2019
Nora Newcombe wins Howard Crosby Warren Medal
FABBS President, Nora Newcombe, Temple University, has been awarded the Howard Crosby Warren Medal. The Society of Experiment Psychology (SEP) issues the award in recognition of outstanding achievement in Experimental Psychology in the United States and Canada. Dr. Newcombe was recognized “for her distinguished research contributions on fundamental aspects of cognition and development, with emphasis on spatial cognition and the development of memory”. The medal is sometimes referred to as “psychology’s first award”.
See the write-up on Dr. Newcombe here.
SPSSI and APA Bring Issue of Scientist Human Rights to the Hill
On March 22, 2019, the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI), the American Psychological Association – both FABBS member societies – and other organizations co-sponsored a briefing “Protecting and Promoting the Human Rights of Scientists, Scholars, and Students Around the World”. The briefing brought to light a troubling trend of scholars being kidnapped, imprisoned, or otherwise threatened. The cause of these hostile acts may be one of several reasons, including research in sensitive or taboo topics, persecution based on identity, and aspects related to the political climate.
Sarah Mancoll, SPSSI Policy Director, welcomed attendees and shared that SPSSI was co-founded by a Jewish refugee and so the safety of scholars is a concern deeply ingrained in the history of the organization. Human rights is not only an area of study for SPSSI, but also directly affects scientists who are members of scientific societies.
The briefing was moderated by Theresa Harris, JD (Human Rights and Law Program, American Association for the Advancement of Science) and included presentations by Rebecca Everly, JD, PhD (Committee on Human Rights, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine); Robert Quinn, JD (Founding Executive Director, the Scholars at Risk Network); Olga Hünler, PhD (Department for Anthropology and Cultural Research, University of Bremen); Eugene Chudnovsky, PhD (Committee of Concerned Scientists; Distinguished Professor of Physics, Lehman College); and Teng Biao, PhD (U.S.-Asia Law Institute, New York University; Institute for China’s Democratic Transition).
Read more about the event here.
You can find a recording of the briefing on SPSSI’s YouTube channel.
Scholars at Risk’s annual report regarding attacks on higher education communities: Free to Think 2018
