Barbara Landau elected to National Academy of Sciences

Barbara Landau, the Dick and Lydia Todd Professor in the Department of Cognitive Science and director of the interdisciplinary Science of Learning Institute, is among the 84 new members of the National Academy of Sciences whose election was announced on May 1. Recognizing distinguished and continuing original research, membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors in science.

More from the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

Tristan Davies, senior lecturer and director of Undergraduate Studies in the Writing Seminars, was selected as the winner of this year's Crenson-Hertz Award for Community-Based Learning and Participatory Research by the university's Center for Social Concern. Established in 2012 in honor of emeritus faculty members Matthew Crenson and Neil Hertz, the award is given to a faculty member who is dedicated to community engagement through teaching, academic program development, and/or research that has enriched student learning and established meaningful community partnerships.

Davies' nomination referenced his longtime partnership with Roland Park Elementary/Middle School through the Write Place, as well as his commitment to build community-based learning at JHU through work in advocating for the Center for Social Concern, attending community-based-learning faculty meetings, and referring faculty members to the CSC.

Dora Malech, an assistant professor in the Writing Seminars, was named one of Johns Hopkins' 2018 Diversity Recognition Award winners. The awards recognize exceptional contributions of faculty, staff, and students in advancing and celebrating diversity and inclusion at Johns Hopkins.

Malech has created successful and ongoing partnerships with Baltimore schools between the university's Writing Seminars program and Writers in Baltimore Schools by diversifying the curriculum and syllabus offerings to include writers of color and addressing issues of equity and inclusion. For her students, Malech developed high-impact activities such as service learning. These courses focus on the intersection of poetry and social concern and serve as a model for other departments to address diversity and inclusion in academia.

Malech also partners with the Center for Africana Studies and LGBTQ Life to bring new and diverse writers and editors to the Homewood campus. Her work has resulted in successful hiring of underrepresented minority candidates and serves as a model for best practices as related to student success, retention, and scholarship.