Benbow Receives Mensa Lifetime Award

Benbow

APS Fellow Camilla Benbow, Vanderbilt University, is the recipient of the Mensa Education and Research Foundation’s 2004 Lifetime Achievement Award.

MERF president Greg Timmers made a surprise visit to give Benbow – an unknowing recipient – the award. Benbow’s mentor, APS Fellow Julian Stanley, Johns Hopkins University, also surprised her by attending the ceremony.

The award consists of a showcase medal and $1,000, and an issue of Mensa Research Journal will be dedicated to some of Benbow’s research articles.

In his presentation, Timmers cited Benbow’s “holding high expectations for people she works with, her education policy and advocacy efforts, and her focus on turning research strategies into human successes” as particularly impressive aspects of her career.

“I am so overwhelmed. This is an exceptional honor, and I can’t think of a better place to receive an award than here with all of my colleagues,” Benbow said.

Her long-term study – the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth – with colleague and husband David Lubinski, an APS Fellow and Charter Member, examines the developmental trajectories of more than 5,000 individuals and the impact of education over their life span.

Mensa is an international society whose only qualification for membership is a score in the top 2 percent of the population on a standardized intelligence test.

Charter Member Harrell Dies

APS Charter Member Ernest Harrell died of cancer on August 26, 2004. Harrell was 60 years old.

Harrell was born in San Angelo, Texas in 1944. He earned a BA, MA, and PhD in psychology from Texas Christian University. Harrell joined the faculty at the University of North Texas in 1971, and from 1991 to 2003 served as chair of the psychology department.

Harrell pursued research topics in the field of neuropsychology, publishing voluminous articles in scholarly journals throughout his career. Colleagues respected him as a man of endless talent who could speak at length with regard to any aspect of psychology. He earned the distinction of being a diplomate in neuropsychology for the American Board of Professional Disability Consultants.

He is survived by his wife of 37 years, Carol; his sons, Jeffrey and Alex; his mother, Clara Lee; and his brother, Alan.

Rulon Receives SEPA Award

APS Charter Member Michael J. Rulon, Covenant College, recently received the first Southeastern Psychological Association Mentor Award.

“He is an innovative and engaging lecturer and a patient advisor,” wrote former student David Washburn, Georgia State University.

Rulon spends most summers teaching a course called “Psych Tour.” The course allows five to 10 students to visit many influential universities, research labs, and psychologists across the country. Past tours have visited the Stanford sleep labs and the University of California, Los Angeles EEG labs.

Washburn said Rulon is fit to receive the mentor award because he communicates the following message: “Your life as a psychologist doesn’t begin when you get a job, or when you earn your PhD, or even when you graduate from college. Your life as a psychologist began with your first psychology course.”