A lifetime of dedication to psychology research and teaching recently earned one ASU professor national recognition.
The American Psychological Association honored counseling psychology professor Terence J. G. Tracey of the Mary Lou Fulton College of Education on Aug. 18 during its annual convention in Boston.
“It’s a nice award to get before you die. I was very grateful,” Tracey said.
He received the 2008 Leona Tyler Lifetime Distinguished Contribution to Counseling Psychology, garnishing a plaque and a check to help stimulate further research.
As a surprise during the convention, Tracey was also awarded a Presidential Citation for the 27 years of research he dedicated to the field, which lands him a keynote-speaker role in next year’s convention.
“It seems everyone knew about this citation but me. It was certainly a wonderful recognition of my research,” Tracey said.
One colleague of Tracey’s said he was proud of the achievement.
“I am a very enthusiastic supporter of Tracey because he has excelled since the day he got here,” said George W. Hynd, senior vice provost for education and innovation and dean of the education college. “He is not only a distinguished faculty member; he also serves as an outstanding mentor for graduate students.”
Tracey’s research theorizes how human interests relate to educational and occupational choices, persistence, success and satisfaction.
“We tend to focus on abilities,” he said. “We ask why [people] chose to go into a particular field and whether [that field is] what they like or just what they’re good at.”
These are all questions Tracey has been asking since he was hired at ASU in 1999.
He started out as an engineering major at the University of Maryland, eventually switching his major to psychology.
“I fell into psychology by some sense of chance and some sense of serendipity,” Tracey said.
After obtaining a Ph.D. in psychology, he worked in a counseling center at the University at Buffalo in New York.
“I felt it was easier to see clients in a university than in a professional office setting,” Tracey said.
He eventually accepted a job at ASU in hopes of escaping the “cold winters of back east.” He has since stayed active in running education programs.
“[ASU] attracted me because it had very good programs and a high quality of people,” Tracey said.
He added that ASU has provided him a chance to do research on the topics that interest him, hopefully bringing recognition to them in the process.
“Psychology will always be important because it answers a lot of questions about how people work,” Tracey said.
Reach the reporter at jodi.cisman@asu.edu.
