Distinguished Service Award

The Division offers this award for distinguished contributions to Division 44 through exceptional service. Award winners have a long history of being active contributors to the life of the Division and are the lifeblood of this organization whose efforts we appreciate.

2009 winner

Gregory M. Herek, Ph.D. - Dr. Herek received his Ph.D. in 1983 from the University of California at Davis. After serving as a faculty member at Yale and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, he returned to Davis where he is Professor of Psychology. A Charter Member of Division 44, Dr. Herek has a long history of service to the Division. He is a past Chair of the APA Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns and has served on the APA Task Force on Avoiding Heterosexist Bias in Research and on the Task Force on AIDS. In 1982 he received the Outstanding Achievement Award from the APA Committee on Lesbian and Gay Concerns. In 1989 and again in 1999 he received the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the Division.

He is the recipient of the 2006 Kurt Lewin Memorial Award for "outstanding contributions to the development and integration of psychological research and social action" and the APA Early Career Award for Contribution to Psychology in the Public Interest. In view of his research and advocacy on behalf of LGBT people, he was invited to be a participant at President Clinton's White House Conference on Hate Crimes. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on gays and the U.S. military and on antigay violence.

Dr. Herek has assisted the APA in preparing amicus briefs in numerous court cases. These include challenges to the constitutionality of state laws prohibiting marriage by same-sex couples, state sodomy laws at the federal and state levels, state antigay ballot propositions, military policies excluding lesbians and gay men, and the right of the Boy Scouts of America to exclude gay people. In addition, he has served as consultant and expert witness for numerous legal cases involving the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, and people with AIDS. Dr. Herek's service has extended from his graduate school through his current activities. He has produced important research and through his advocacy made a significant impact on social policy affecting LGBT people.

2008 winner

Douglas Kimmel, Ph.D. - This year's recipient of the Distinguished Service Award is our stalwart friend and founder of this division, Dr. Douglas Kimmel.

Dr. Kimmel completed his doctorate at the University of Chicago, and is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychology, City College, CUNY. His international academic credentials include Visiting Professorships in Tokyo at Obirin University and Tokyo Metropolitan University, as well as, Fulbright Lecture Professor at Tokyo Woman's Christian University. Clinically, he maintains a private practice in Hancock, Maine.

Dr. Kimmel is deeply and firmly rooted in this organization. He was Chair of the Association of Gay Psychologists (1977), the precursor organization to Division 44, and President of Division 44 from 1987 to 1988, i.e., the third sitting President of this Society. Since 2006, our newsletter has flourished with him as editor.

He has represented our interests in APA governance by serving on the Committee for Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Concerns (1980-83), and the Board of Social and Ethical Responsibility (1983-1986), focusing on ageism issues. He then went on to chair the APA Task Force on Avoiding Ageism in Psychological Research. The Council of Representatives profited from his efforts from 1992 to 1994. He was appointed as a trustee of the American Psychological Foundation from 1996 to 2002. Not satisfied to rest on his laurels, he is currently chair-elect of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest.

In the broader community, Dr. Kimmel has advanced LGBT Psychology. Looking out for those of us who are rapidly approaching the golden years, he co-founded Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) in 1977.

His awards are too numerous to mention but this Division has previously presented him its Distinguished Education Contribution Award and APA's Committee for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Concerns granted him its Outstanding Achievement Award.

Dr. Kimmel's scholarship has included publication of the textbook, Adulthood and Aging, which includes his appreciation for the intersection of aging and sexual orientation. He is co-editor of Psychological Perspectives on Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Experience and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Aging: Research and Clinical Perspectives.

Dr. Kimmel has been a mentor to many who have held leadership roles in Division 44. It is with the utmost of respect and honor that we name Dr. Douglas Kimmel this year's winner of the Distinguished Service Award.

2007 winner

Terry Gock - Dr. Gock is the Director of the Asian Pacific Family Center in Rosemead, CA and also maintains a private practice offering forensic, therapy, and consulting services, particularly regarding multicultural issues, HIV/AIDS, and substance abuse. Dr. Gock received his PhD in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis in 1980, followed by a post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at the UCLA Institute of Psychiatry, Law, and Behavioral Sciences, and a Master of Public Administration from UCLA in 1990. He also has been an adjunct faculty member at the California School of Professional Psychology, principal Investigator on 10 large federal grants, and serves on the boards of important national mental health organizations. Dr. Gock finds time (somehow!) to publish and present scholarly work, and has served organized psychology in innumerable ways. He has received several prestigious awards for his work, but we honor him today specifically for his outstanding contributions to Division 44. Dr. Gock has served the division in one capacity or another almost continuously since the early 1980s, and has been on the EC since 1995 - in fact, we had to take advantage of this one day to make this award before he begins his term on APA Council for us again! Dr. Gock has been an unfailingly steady and wise presence in the division, and he is respected and trusted throughout the APA governance structure for his sensible and creative approaches to the nuts and bolts of getting things done in effective ways. Division 44 has benefited immeasurably from Dr. Gock's strong and consistent presence, and we honor him for this commitment.

Past winners

  • 2006 Henry Taylor and Robin Buhrke
  • 2005 No award
  • 2004 No award
  • 2003 Steven E. James
  • 2002 Steven Morin
  • 1990 Christine Browning & Kristin Hancock

Nominations

Please send nominations for this award to the President-Elect.