2021 Alumni Association Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award
The Alumni Association Excellence in Engaged Scholarship Award is presented to a faculty member who has engaged in a collaborative and sustained manner with community groups; has connected university outreach with community organizational goals; has furthered mutual productive relationships between the university and the community; and other activities that reflect excellence in engaged scholarship activities.
Dr. Kathryn Howell, Psychology
Dr. Kathryn Howell is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology
at the University of Memphis. Her program of research centers on the health and well-being
of children and their families. Across her projects, she assesses individual, relational,
and community factors that enhance resilience or reduce psychopathology following
exposure to traumatic events during childhood. A common theme underlying her studies
is the promotion of resilience among youth and their families exposed to adversity.
Much of her work is devoted to the development of strengths-based interventions for
trauma-exposed groups, including youth experiencing adversity and women exposed to
intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Thus, she has developed a research specialization
in empirically-supported interventions to promote well-being for children and families
exposed to trauma.
Dr. Howell is author or co-author of more than 100 scholarly publications and currently serves as Associate Editor for the American Psychological Association journal, Psychology of Violence. She has been the recipient of grants from multiple local and national organizations, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Urban Child Institute, and the Memphis Research Consortium. She is also the recipient of numerous awards, including the Early Career Award for Contributions to Practice in Child Maltreatment from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Foundation & APA Division 37 Diane J. Willis Early Career Award, and the American Psychological Foundation & APA Division 12 Theodore Blau Early Career Award for Outstanding Contribution to Professional Clinical Psychology. The University of Memphis has recognized Dr. Howell’s contributions to the field by awarding her the Early Career Research Award and recognizing her status as a PI Millionaire. Dr. Howell is a licensed psychologist with health service provider designation in the state of Tennessee.