Angela Byars-Winston, PhD, professor, General Internal Medicine, was selected by the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP) for the 2017-18 John Holland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career or Personality Research. 

The award recognizes notable research on career and personality topics. Investigators honored with the award are recognized by the society as having established research programs that are "sufficiently significant and sustained to be recognized as making a substantial impact on the field of counseling psychology," according to the SCP.

Dr. Byars-Winston's research focuses on effective mentoring practices. Her work examines cultural influences on career development, especially for racial and ethnic minorities and women in the sciences, engineering, and medicine. Specifically, she has focused on testing the validity of theoretical models to explain and predict academic and career outcomes using social cognitive theoretical approaches.

A formal presentation of the award occurred on August 11, 2018 at the American Psychological Association Conference in San Francisco, California.

“I’m absolutely honored to be recognized by my peers in psychology, especially since I conduct so much of my work in STEM [science, technology, engineering, and math] and academic medicine,” said Dr. Byars-Winston. 

“Dr. John Holland is one of the most influential psychologists and the creator of the Holland codes and career development model that defines career counseling. To receive an award named after him is not only an affirmation of my scholarship but motivation to continue doing work that increases diversity and equity in career development and the workforce.”  

Resources:

• Society of Counseling Psychology 
• "Dr. Angela Byars-Winston Receives National Award for Research Excellence," Madison365, August 13, 2018

Editor's note: This article was updated on December 19, 2018 to include news coverage about the award.