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Susan Basow, Dana Professor of Psychology, has won the 2009 Heritage Award recognizing her dedication to teaching in the field of feminist psychology.
The award, from the Society for the Psychology of Women, a division of the American Psychological Association, is presented to a person who has made distinguished, long-standing, and substantial contributions that pertain to women, gender, or related issues.
The award citation reads, in part, “The 2009 Heritage Award, this year in the area of teaching, is presented to Dr. Susan A. Basow in recognition of her truly inspiring teaching, mentoring, and scholarly contributions to feminist pedagogy. A founder and pioneer in the field of the psychology of women and gender, for over 30 years she has been not only an outstanding feminist teacher, but also an influential feminist scholar of teaching and learning.”
Basow teaches classes in abnormal psychology, psychology of gender, personality, and counseling psychology. A founder of Lafayette’s Women’s Studies program, the College has recognized her dedication to teaching and research with the Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award and the Jones Lecture Award.
Basow has worked extensively with students on a one-on-one basis through independent studies and honors projects, as well as including them in her own research as part of the EXCEL Scholars program. Many of these students have coauthored articles with her in professional journals and have presented their research at national and international conferences. Her research interests include the role of gender in student ratings of professors and the body image concerns of both women and men.
“Lafayette students are very bright and talented, and it is a pleasure to encourage their intellectual, critical thinking, and research skills,” she says.
The citation continues, “In addition to her own obvious distinction in the classroom, she has promoted feminist pedagogy with her widely used textbooks, as well as her cutting-edge scholarship on a range of teaching topics, from gender dynamics in the classroom to student attitudes, and extensively cited work on the differential evaluation of women and men professors. Perhaps most importantly, however, she has inspired countless individual women – students, colleagues, and readers of her work – to contribute themselves to feminist pedagogy.”
Basow’s clinical psychology and gender expertise has been covered by a variety of media outlets, including the BBC, CBS, CNN, and Canadian CityTV. A widely published leader in her field, Basow is author of Gender Stereotypes: Traditions and Alternatives, printed in three editions, including a Chinese translation. She has made numerous presentations at professional conferences and has served as a consultant and expert witness. She is consulting editor for scientific journals Psychology of Women Quarterly and Sex Roles and is a licensed psychologist.