Association for Psychological Science selects professor as a Fellow of the Association

The Association for Psychological Science (APS) selected Professor Sandra Simpkins as a Fellow of the Association in recognition of her “sustained outstanding contributions to the advancement of psychological science.”

“It is an honor to be selected as a fellow and to be nominated by my peers,” Simpkins said. “My contributions to psychology would not have been possible without the fantastic students and colleagues with whom I collaborate.”

As a developmental psychologist, Simpkins studies child and adolescent development. She researches how families and organized after-school activities shape youth’s functioning, and how those processes vary across social position factors, such as ethnicity and culture. She is co-PI on grants from the John Templeton Foundation and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation that study how organized after-school activities support positive development from childhood through young adulthood. ​As director of the Center for Afterschool and Summer Excellence (CASE), Simpkins engages colleagues and doctoral students in research on improving the lives of diverse youth.

As director of Project Reach, Simpkins guides research examining how families help support high school students’ motivational beliefs in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) as well as how those motivational beliefs, and culturally responsive practices, relate to students’ STEM outcomes.

Simpkins previously served as the chair of the Ph.D. admissions committee for four years, ensuring the school admitted a diverse group of scholars committed to advancing the field of educational science.

In 2019, Simpkins was awarded the School of Education Faculty Mentorship Award for Inclusive Excellence in recognition of her significant impact, through formal and informal mentoring, on the success of under-represented minority (URM) students.
​
The APS is the leading international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology across disciplinary and geographic borders.