Dr. Sandy Jung, professor in the Department of Psychology, was recently recognized by the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) with a Distinguished Academic Award.

The CAFA Distinguished Academic Awards recognize academic staff members at Alberta research and undergraduate universities, who through their research and/or other scholarly, creative or professional activities have made an outstanding contribution to the wider community.

According to CAFA, Dr. Jung received the award in recognition of her outstanding research program in her Psychology Crime Lab (PCL@M) that focuses on the prevention of sexual assault, child sexual exploitation and intimate partner violence.

The organization also cited her work with community policing partners as a factor in selecting her for the award, including her research on domestic violence with the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) and Integrated Threat and Risk Assessment Centre, and the influence of her research on the EPS’s Violence Reduction Strategy.

“It is the dual commitment to high-quality research and community service which makes Dr. Jung a valuable member of the Alberta Academy and the reason why CAFA conferred the Distinguished Academic Award to her this year,” read a statement from CAFA.

“For me, evaluating a process, tool or intervention, and then seeing that process or intervention implemented in the real-world is exciting," says Dr. Jung. "I am a scientist at heart, so promoting evidence-based, sound and defensible practices is so important. Working with community partners who have the same views makes building relationships easier, and seeing them desire such rigorous and well-supported practices is so very gratifying to me as a researcher.”

Dr. Jung says that her community partnerships also have a positive impact in the classroom. “I get to bring in examples of real-world applications of research, and even more exciting to students is to be able to bring in professionals from those partner organizations who speak to them directly about their experiences and knowledge,” she says.

“The more research I have going on, the more students I can take on as volunteers,” she says. “These partnerships also can lead to successful grant applications, which consequently leads to greater opportunities to provide paid opportunities for students to serve as research assistants.”

This year’s CAFA Award recipients were celebrated on November 18 with a video presentation.