Dissertation Awards
Palo Alto University proudly honors outstanding dissertation work by our PhD and PsyD students through two prestigious awards: the Tondow Award and the Koopman Award. These awards recognize exceptional scholarly contributions and commemorate the legacies of two distinguished figures in the field of psychology.
At Palo Alto University, we place great emphasis on research, innovation, and academic excellence. Our dissertation awards are a testament to the hard work, dedication, and intellectual rigor of our students. They reflect our commitment to fostering an environment where groundbreaking research thrives, and where students are encouraged to push the boundaries of knowledge in psychology and counseling.
Dissertation Awards
The Tondow Award
The Tondow Award is presented to a student in the PhD program and is given in honor of Dr. Murray Tondow, a revered psychologist, former PAU faculty member, and the visionary behind several psychological assessment and technology companies. Dr. Tondow was a pioneer in leveraging technology in education, psychology, and counseling.
The Koopman Award
The Koopman Award is bestowed upon a student in the PsyD program and is named in honor of Dr. Cheryl Koopman. Dr. Koopman, was a cherished teacher and mentor, who made significant contributions to the understanding of stress and health in the social and political context. Her dedication as a dissertation mentor and her impact on countless students and trainees are commemorated through this award.
1988 | Corbin | Shauna | PhD | Factors affecting long-term similarities & differences among siblings following parental divorce. | |
1989 | Griggs | Thomas | Shelden | PhD | Moral judgement in opposing responses to the nuclear arms race. |
1990 | Bleiberg Jacobson | Deborah | PhD | Socioemotional adjustment and social cognitive abilities of subtypes of learning disabled boys as compared to normally achieving and low achieving boys. | |
1991 | Papineau | Marie | PhD | Spousal bereavement: an analysis of ways of coping used by elderly widows and widowers. | |
1992 | Smith | Kevin | Gene | PhD | Optimism, self-consciousness, and coping with AIDS and cancer. |
1993 | Spring Jacobs | Pamela | PhD | Features of the self in adults raised in alcoholic families. | |
1994 | Eliou | Zoi | Dorit | PhD | Motivation and adult psychodevelopment of a solo nonstop circumnavigator. |
1995 | Read | Nancy | W. | PhD | Patterns of consistency and change: the five-factor model and the life story model in the life voyage of Dodge Morgan. |
1997 | Packman | Wendy | L. | PhD | Psychosocial consequences of bone marrow transplantation in donor and nondonor siblings. |
1999 | Castillo-Yee | Eleanor | D. | PhD | Preferences for help-seeking sources among Filipino Americans. |
2000 | Frankel | Carl | B. | PhD | Such order from confusion sprung. |
2001 | Oy-Lun Chin | Sandy | PhD | Interpersonal and symptomatic distress in depressed Chinese-Americans. | |
2002 | Gross | Kristin | PhD | The incremental validity of the MMPI-2 and demographic variables in assessing major depression. | |
2002 | Brown | Lisa | M. | PhD | Suicidal risk factors with an elderly population: standard of care practices. |
2003 | Cleary | Karin | M. | PhD | Risk factors for completed adolescent suicide: implications for prevention. |
2004 | VanZutphen | Kelly | H. | PhD | Executive functioning in children with PKU. |
2005 | Bruce | Elizabeth | Jean | PhD | Relationships between ethnic identity, trauma symptoms, and juvenile delinquency. |
2006 | Wilson Crosbie | Teresa | PhD | Psychological aspects of Fabry disease. | |
2007 | Lee | Grace | P. | PhD | Implementing the Daubert legal standard for psychological tests and procedures. |
2008 | Housley Patterson | Jennifer | PhD | Cognitive and experience predictors of the ability to tolerate discomfort in the service of goal achievement. | |
2009 | O'Kennon | Sabrina | Diane | PhD | The effects of personality traits and coping mechanisms on anxiety about aging. |
2010 | Estupinian | Ginny | R. | PhD | The impact of spirituality on posttraumatic stress disorder and depression among military personnel. |
2011 | Wallace | Joanna | PhD | Psychosocial changes associated with participation in art therapy interventions for siblings of pediatric hematopoietic stem cell transplant patients | |
2017 | Reed II | David | E | PhD | Memento mori : development and validation of the existential phenomenological questionnaire and its relationship with self-esteem and psychopathology within the terror management theory framework (1042193008) |
2018 | Ryu | Daniel | PsyD | (Trans)gender diverse mental healthcare : applying APA guidelines to patient experiences | |
2018 | Fox | Melanie | PsyD | Using the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC) to evaluate change in parent-child interaction following Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) |
*More Information to Come!
Name | Photo | Dissertation File | Dissertation Name | |
AY 20 - 21 | Rayna Sanghvi | Murray Tondow | ||
AY 20 - 21 | ||||
AY 21 - 22 | Margot Paul | Cheryl Koopman | ||
AY 21 - 22 | Afik Faerman | Murray Tondow | ||
AY 22 - 23 | Megan Chavez Tomlinson | Cheryl Koopan | ||
AY 22 - 23 | Kenzie Bohnsack | Murray Tondow |