American Psychosocial Oncology Society Honors Dean Barbara Jones for Excellence in Research Mentorship
The American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) awarded its prestigious Ruth McCorkle Excellence in Research Mentorship Award to Barbara L. Jones, PhD, FAOSW, dean of Boston University School of Social Work (BUSSW).
The award honors a society or community member in the psychosocial oncology field who has demonstrated longstanding commitment to to making a significant positive impact on their mentees’ education and career, nurturing intellectual growth, career development, professional guidance, and positive role modeling in the field of psychosocial oncology. Jones was nominated for the award by her mentees.
“I was applying for the final cohort of the Sojourns Leadership Program and really hoped that [Jones] would be willing to serve as my national leadership mentor for the program,” even though she had only recently joined BUSSW as its dean.
“With no hesitation at all, she agreed to serve as a mentor [despite] her tremendously busy schedule.” Zhang wasn’t surprised, but he says he was “truly inspired by the level of commitment and involvement.”
Jen Currin-McCulloch, PhD, an assistant professor at Colorado State University School of Social Work and mentee, said, “I can think of no one more perfect for this award. As one of her PhD mentees at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at the University of Texas at Austin, I had the opportunity to get an insider’s perspective on the special magnetism that Barbara brings to her mentoring role. I was able to witness Barbara’s growing community of psychosocial oncology mentees benefitting from her research and clinical expertise, as well as her savvy social work leadership skills.”
“Whenever I tell someone in my field that I trained with Barbara, I typically hear comments equating to how I won the mentoring lottery,” Currin-McCulloch said, adding that she hopes to pass along her inspiration to the next generation of psychosocial oncology researchers and clinicians.
APOS Awards Committee chairs Sharla Wells-Di Gregorio, PhD, FAPOS, and Charles Kamen, PhD, stated, “The APOS 2024 Awards Committee agrees wholeheartedly that [Jones’s] impact upon the field has been profound and that [she] truly embodies the spirit and symbol of this prestigious award.”
Dean Jones was recognized for the award during the 21st APOS Annual Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico, March 6-8, 2024.
Dean Barbara Jones is one of the nation’s top scholars in the fields of psychosocial oncology and palliative care. She joined BUSSW in 2023 after nearly twenty years on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin where she served as university distinguished professor, Lockhart Memorial Professor in Direct Social Work Practice, founding director of the Institute for Collaborative Health Research and Practice, and associate dean for health affairs in the university’s Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She was also a distinguished professor and inaugural chair of the Department of Health Social Work at UT Austin’s Dell Medical School – a department she helped build to bridge the social work and medical schools.
In addition to co-editing three acclaimed books in oncology and palliative care and publishing more than 130 articles and chapters in top academic journals and books, Jones is a past recipient of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers’ Social Worker of the Year award; a fellow of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, the National Academies of Practice, the American Psychosocial Oncology Society, and the Association of Oncology Social Work; and the first social worker to receive the American Cancer Society’s Pathfinder in Palliative Care Award. She also serves on the National Advisory Board of the Sojourn Scholars Leadership Program sponsored by Cambia Health Foundation.