HWS News
26 May 2021 • Faculty Ashdown, Bodenlos, Kingery Awarded Faculty Prizes
Selected by their colleagues, three professors earned annual honors for their work as educators, scholars and community leaders.
Associate Professors of the Psychological Science Brien Ashdown, Jamie Bodenlos and Julie Newman Kingery are the recipients of the 2021 Faculty Prizes. Based on the recommendations of fellow HWS faculty members, the Committee on Faculty Research and Honors selected Ashdown, Bodenlos and Kingery for their respective service, scholarship and teaching.
Ashdown has served his colleagues, the HWS campus and communities near and far — leading and participating in faculty committees such as the Committee on Academic Affairs; professional organizations including the Society for Cross-Cultural Research; and nonprofits, such as Education for the Children USA, a 501c3 charitable organization operating in Guatemala. An expert in cross-cultural psychology, Ashdown has also served as international director for Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology, and as U.S. representative to the Executive Board for the Sociedad InterAmericana de Psicología. Ashdown has coauthored dozens of peer-reviewed studies, book chapters and conference presentations, often collaborating with HWS faculty and students. A member of the HWS faculty since 2011 and an instructor in the Cornell Prison Education Program, he teaches a variety of courses, has overseen many Honors and research projects and served as the Posse 6 Mentor. Ashdown earned a B.A. in psychology and Spanish from Weber State University, and a research-based M.S. and Ph.D. in psychology from Saint Louis University, where he began his research in Guatemala. Ashdown leaves Hobart and William Smith this fall to take a position at the American University of Sharjah in UAE.
In his faculty prize citation, Ashdown’s colleagues also highlighted the “countless informal but significant acts of service that have no official designation.” He “always steps up when our department is in need no matter what is going on in their life or in the world outside,” and “is there for our students always finding spots in their research lab for interested students, always carrying one of the largest advising loads in our department and always making room for students in their classes.”
Bodenlos, who also serves as chair of the Department of Psychological Science, studies the psychology of health and wellness, including obesity, mindfulness, stress and sleep. The recipient of numerous research grants and awards, Bodenlos has presented scholarship at national and international conferences and published more than 40 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, Mindfulness, Appetite, Obesity, and the Journal of American College Health. Her teaching interests align with her areas of research — psychopathology, health psychology and psychotherapy — encompassing topics like stress and illness, substance use disorders, mindfulness, eating behaviors and evidence-based treatment. She holds a Fellowship with the Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the advancement of the science and practice of behavioral medicine. A licensed New York State psychologist, Bodenlos earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Louisiana State University, M.A. from Western Carolina University and B.S. from the University of Pittsburgh. Before joining the HWS faculty in 2009, she completed a post-doctoral research fellowship and then served as an instructor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School’s Department of Medicine. A highly respected scholar, since Nov. 2020, Bodenlos’ research has been cited more than 2,500 times, placing her among the most cited scholars on campus. View her ResearchGate profile here.
Bodenlos’ citation noted that her “scholarly achievements and research productivity are truly remarkable. She publishes in top journals and presents at top conferences…studies topics of critical importance to students’ and community members’ mental and physical well-being.” Colleagues called out her “cutting-edge” research on mindfulness and her “studies with hard-to-reach and underrepresented populations,” while others emphasize that by “heavily involving students in her research program she truly epitomizes what it means to be a teacher-scholar.”
Kingery, a developmental and clinical psychologist, teaches a range of courses in the department, including child and adolescent psychology, introductory and specialized topics in the field, and research courses. A member of the faculty since 2007, she has earned numerous grants and awards from HWS and external organizations, enabling her to educate and conduct research side-by-side with students. These collaborations have led to coauthored publications in peer-reviewed journals such as Journal of American College Health, Psychology Learning and Teaching and Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review. Kingery’s teaching extends well beyond the classroom, as she supervises Honors and research projects as well as internships that help launch students on their careers. Prior to joining the HWS faculty, Kingery served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and as an affiliate faculty member at Loyola College. She earned her Ph.D. from University of Maine and B.A. from the University of Richmond.
As Kingery’s colleagues note, she has “developed a repertoire of pedagogical tools through participation in teaching workshops, reading groups and working with CTL students.” Students praise her “exceptional quality as an educator,” evident not only in her pedagogical skills but also her “deep and sincere concern for each of them as students and people.” Kingery is “not only a skilled educator but the kind of generous, kind and supportive professor that has long-lasting impacts on their students.”