Carolyn Becker Receives National Lawrence H. Cohen Outstanding Mentor Award

When Carolyn Becker, Ph.D., decided to leave the ivy-covered establishments where she trained to join the faculty at Trinity University, she was labeled a renegade. That was 25 years ago.

"When I chose to come to Trinity, most people in my area of clinical psychology who had mentored me thought my decision just didn't make any sense. I was set up to be faculty at a research institution or a medical school in the Northeast and write grants all day," Becker laughs. "But I knew I loved undergraduate teaching, and I wanted to focus on it."

She came to Trinity in 1999 as the only clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychology. Having obtained her bachelor's degree in psychology and sociology/anthropology at Swarthmore College, she was thrilled to be back in the liberal arts environment. "I love playing with ideas, questioning the status quo, and going down rabbit holes in my field. All of that is better done at a liberal arts college. I have more freedom here."

Becker's research has resulted in numerous publications focused on body image and eating disorders. She attributes many of her biggest career successes to her students. "I often go to my students and say, 'I have this idea, but it's unformed. Let's see what we can do with this.' Then we work together, and we run with it. They just have great ideas."

Her philosophy on education and mentorship has always been to view her students as junior collaborators. "I think that makes the transition to later stages of mentorship easier because I'm already working with them at a high level and believe they can do a lot," she says. Students are frequently authors on her publications.

Becker's immense impact as a mentor motivated three of her former students to nominate her for the Lawrence H. Cohen Outstanding Mentor Award, granted by the Society for a Science of Clinical Psychology (SSCP). She is the first awardee not employed at an R1 institution, a title given to premier research institutions with a set value of their budget put toward research expenditures.

Since coming to Trinity, Becker has supported more than 55 students in obtaining acceptance to accredited clinical psychology Ph.D. programs. The path to gaining a Ph.D. in clinical psychology is arduous, with very low acceptance rates. "The vast majority of students have to do full-time research after they earn their B.A. or B.S. before applying to graduate school to be competitive," Becker says. "That means that while they certainly will have support at their post-bacs, many of them still come back for extensive mentorship in the graduate application process." After post-baccalaureate research and graduate school, clinical psychology students also complete a pre-doctoral internship, which is essentially a year dedicated to clinical training, and most will also complete a post-doctoral training.

It is important to Becker to remain in contact with her students throughout this long process. "I may be the one who they're talking to about the pros and cons of different programs. I may be taking them around at conferences and introducing them to people to get into internships or making connections for postdocs, or providing letters of recommendation for grants afterward." Many of her students who have completed their training still call her for professional guidance. "I basically say to all of our students, 'We're here for you forever. Ricochet back to us as much as you need to if you feel we can be helpful.'"

Salome Wilfred '14, a nominator, explained that it was Becker's initial belief in her as a student that set her apart as a mentor. "During my first meeting with Carolyn, we talked about everything. Her immediate investment in me was unfamiliar. Carolyn was the first educator who genuinely believed in me." Now working toward completing her Ph.D. at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Wilfred still values Becker's influence. "Her mentorship is why I want to work in academia. I experienced firsthand the difference a teacher can make in your life."

Becker has been recognized before for her outstanding mentorship. She received the Piper Professor award in 2017 for her dedication to the profession of teaching in the state of Texas. In 2012, she was granted the Dr. and Mrs. Z.T. Scott Faculty Fellowship Award for excellence in teaching and advising at Trinity.

Still, she admitted the Lawrence H. Cohen Award, awarded by contemporaries in her field, meant something different to her: "It was a certain kind of validation that a ceiling had been broken," she says. "It acknowledges that liberal arts college professors play an important role in the advancement of our field and in creating future clinical psychological scientists, even at a small college in Texas."