UW-RF Home > University Communications Home > This Month's News Releases

University Communications

For more information contact mark.a.kinders@uwrf.edu or brenda.k.bredahl@uwrf.edu.

McNair Scholars Present at APA Conference

MAY 19, 2006--The work of two McNair scholars at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls continues to earn recognition, with the pair's research accepted for presentation at the 2006 American Psychological Association Conference in New Orleans Aug. 10-13.     

O'Neal Hampton III, a 2006 graduate and recipient of the 2006 Chancellor's Award for Excellence, from Richfield, Minn., and Maureen Casey, a 2006 graduate from New Richmond, Wis., will present their research in collaboration with Travis Tubré of the UW-River Falls psychology department and Bryan Edwards of the Tulane University psychology department.

The researchers examined gender differences in coping responses to sexual harassment and the findings can be used in organizational efforts to reduce the incidence of such harassment.

Hampton and Casey have also been recognized for their research on sexual harassment in organization settings as winners of the Psi Chi Midwest Regional Award given by the Midwestern Psychological Association. The pairs' work was showcased in a special paper session for Psi Chi award winners. Hampton also gave a presentation on their research findings and was presented with a certificate and a check for $300 at the award ceremony in Chicago.

The McNair program supports promising, academically talented student from populations that have been historically underrepresented in higher education, including low-income, first-generation, and minority college students. The program seeks to increase students' confidence and support undergraduate research to better prepare the scholars for graduate study.

Each scholar in the McNair program chooses a faculty member to work with on a research project in his or her career field. Both Hampton and Casey both chose Tubré, who is an assistant professor in the psychology department at UW-RF. Because they were interested in Tubré's areas of research, they decided to collaborate instead of working independently.

Hampton will be pursuing a graduate degree in industrial and organizational psychology at St. Cloud State University. Casey will also be pursuing graduate study at UW-Stout in the same field.

Njia Lawrence-Porter, who is the McNair coordinator at UW-RF, is proud of the work that the scholars have accomplished. "I have found them both an absolute joy to work with," she said.  "They are diligent, hardworking, and exceptional when it comes to meeting the deadlines of a very demanding McNair Scholars Program, on top of all the other academic and life responsibilities of a graduating senior.

Lawrence-Porter also praised the pair's faculty mentors. "The work the psychology department does with its majors is obvious in the quality and caliber of each McNair Scholar we have had from that department. I believe a lot of what O'Neal and Maureen have achieved is due to the systems and structures put in place by the department to assist their graduates in getting to the graduate level and in introducing them to the various aspects of the profession, which they seek to enter."

-30-

Last updated: