National Awards to Honor Inspirational Higher Education Faculty Member	Print Issue
April 6, 2010, Volume 56, No. 28

Nominations are underway for awards in memory of a female pioneer in the field of psychology. In memory of a best-selling author, esteemed college professor and champion and advocate for the advancement of women, nominations for the first Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Awards are being accepted through May 1, 2010.

The awards, named after Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman (1898-1988), will recognize current or former higher education faculty members who have inspired his or her students to make a difference in their communities.  Award recipients will receive a minimum of $25,000 as a one-time award to be used at their sole discretion. The awards will be counted as taxable income.

The Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust was established in 2008 under the will of Gail McKnight Beckman (1938-2007). She created the award in memory of her mother, Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman. Wells Fargo Bank N.A. serves as the Trustee.

Dr. Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman was an educator, a renowned author and a pioneer in the field of psychology. She was one of the first female psychology professors at Columbia University and she taught at the University of Pennsylvania from 1949 to 1967. Dr. Beckman authored nine books and textbooks about child and adolescent psychology. Dr. Beckman was a champion of gender equality and an advocate for the advancement of women in academia.

A trailblazer in her own right as a legal scholar, Gail McKnight Beckman created the Beckman Award to honor current or former academic faculty members who have inspired their students to “create an organization which has demonstrably conferred a benefit on the community at large,” or have inspired their students to “establish on a lasting basis a concept, procedure, or movement of comparable benefit to the community at large.”

Individuals nominated for the award must be current or former teachers, professors or instructors in any higher education academic field. Preference will be given to educators in the fields of psychology, medicine and law. To be considered, the educator must currently teach or have taught at a United States college, university, junior college, community college or technical school. Award candidates must be US citizens or US permanent resident aliens.

After careful deliberation by the Beckman Award Advisory Committee, award winners will be announced by September 30, 2010. The Beckman Award Advisory Committee consists of Joyce Yamaato, Wachovia Bank; Dr. James H. Bray, Jr., American Psychological Association; Dr. Karen Tidmarsh, Bryn Mawr College; and Dr. Geraldine Downey, Columbia University.

The award recipients will be honored at the first annual Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Ceremony on October 2, 2010. Nominators will be invited to present the awards to recipients at the ceremony. The nominator and his or her organization, concept, procedure or movement will also be recognized at the ceremony.

For more information and inquiries, please visit www.wachovia.com/gafoundations and click the “Foundations By Name” link, then click the “Elizabeth Hurlock Beckman Award Trust” link.