Dr. Vickie Jean, Chair of the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences at St. Gregory’s University, was named the Oklahoma Psychological Society (OPS) 2017 Faculty Member of the Year. This award is given annually by OPS, is voted upon by student representatives, and is recognized by faculty at other institutions as a mark of distinction in the field.
“I feel very honored and humbled to have been nominated by our students. I love our students and the opportunities to teach them psychology from a position of faith, and I think that’s reflected in our excellent graduates,” said Dr. Jean.
She said receiving the award was a complete surprise.
“I was telling our students how they should compete for awards next year because of their great presentations and later, they called my name, I was shocked,” explained Dr. Jean. “OPS is important to me as it was founded by one of my mentors, Dr. Bill Frederickson, whom encouraged my love of deductive and inductive reasoning. OPS was my first research competition which encouraged me to pursue my doctorate in psychology. I want our students to have the same positive learning experiences and appreciation of OPS.”
Students nominating Dr. Jean noted how much time and energy she puts into their educational goals.
“Dr. Jean is one of the best professors at St. Gregory’s, and we wanted to recognize her in a meaningful way,” said Partners in Learning Coordinator and MA student Anne Machado.
In addition to being department chair, Dr. Jean is also chair of the graduate committee and active in the National Alliance on Mental Illness and with the Gateway Program.
“She goes so far beyond what is typically expected of professors to make sure we understand and can succeed,” said SGU Social Sciences senior Easton Bennett.
Jean was partially responsible for the addition of three Master’s in Counseling programs at SGU, which have very unique approaches to psychology.
“Our program is one of the only ones in the country to infuse the Catholic faith into our understanding of the practice of psychology,” said Machado, one of the first MA students to enter to program, “It really helps to enlighten our students with adding aspects of spiritual well-being to how we assist our clients.”
Many in her department were helpful in student efforts.
“Vickie is always pushing us to find ways to help make the college experience better for our students. When we found out about this effort, we couldn’t help but assist in the work,” said Dr. David Potter, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies, “We all know how awesome Vickie is at SGU. Now everyone else does too.”
OPS is an affiliate of Psi Chi, the international honor society of psychology, which hosts conferences world-wide an honors those dedicated to excellence in the discipline.
