Ann Masten receives Distinguished Alumni Award

"The Distinguished Alumni Award honors CEHD graduates who have a track record of achievement and excellence in their careers," Rodriguez said on the evening of the awards ceremony. Of Masten's high-impact career, he said:

Ann Masten has been at the forefront of resilience research, starting in 1976 as a graduate student in clinical psychology and continuing as a postdoc researcher until she joined the Institute of Child Development (ICD) faculty in 1986. Last May, she retired from ICD, leaving a long and vibrant legacy as a two-term director, and appointments as Irving B. Harris Professor in Child Development, Regents Professor, and Distinguished McKnight University Professor. Ann is an expert in risk and resilience in development with a focus on the processes leading to positive adaptation and outcomes in children and families whose lives are threatened by adversity. The goal of her work is to inform science, practice, and policy seeking to understand and promote human adaptation and resilience, with a focus on highlighting how everyday protective factors like supportive relationships and self-regulation contribute to positive adaptation. The common, everyday capabilities and resources associated with resilience are what Ann came to call “ordinary magic,” also the title of her most-cited paper and book, which was just released as a second edition. She is well known for her community work with high-risk young people exposed to war, natural disasters, poverty, homelessness, and migration.