Dr. Steinhardt Awarded Murff Excellence Award - May 15, 2007

Dr. Mary Steinhardt, a professor in the College of Education’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, has been awarded the 2007 Robert Murff Excellence Award for her outstanding support of career services at The University of Texas at Austin.

The award, which is presented by the Texas Campus Career Council, was created to acknowledge the efforts of individual career services offices around The University of Texas at Austin campus and thank the numerous “career agents” who help these individual offices. The award is named in honor of Dr. Robert Murff, the founder of the university’s Career Exploration Center.

"Mary Steinhardt has been a tireless advocate on behalf of our students, our services for students, and our relations with the recruiters for the past four years," said Rita Moreno, Career Services Program Coordinator (Education Services), who nominated Dr. Steinhardt for the award.

Steinhardt teaches undergraduate and graduate courses, including a freshman leadership seminar and classes in evaluation and research design, mind/body health and theories of health behavior. She is a Fellow in the Lee Hage Jamail Regents Chair in Education and was recipient of the First Annual Dean's Distinguished Teaching Award in the College of Education in 2002, the Texas Excellence Teaching Award given by the Texas Exes Student Association in 2003 and was elected to the campus-wide Academy of Distinguished Teachers in 2004.

Dr. Steinhardt's academic interests focus on the development and implementation of programs that enhance individual and organizational resilience. Her research explores the determinants and methods for building resilience and strength when challenged with change and stressful situations. She has worked with such companies like 3M, Motorola, Dell, Applied Materials, and Home Depot, and she works closely with the Department of Aging and Disability in Austin, Texas. To date, Dr. Steinhardt has received over a million dollars in funding to support her work and has published over 40 manuscripts.

—Kay Randall, University Communications, 512-232-3910

Related Links:

• Dr. Steinhardt's Resilience Education Website