Sherry Watt, professor in Educational Policy and Leadership Studies, and Charles Martin-Stanley II, doctoral candidate in Higher Education and Student Affairs, were recently announced as  Finkbine Award recipients.

Watt received the Marion L. Huit Faculty Award for her dedication and service to University of Iowa students. She is the leader of the Multicultural Initiatives Research team where she conducts workshops and contributes to scholarly writing. Her research has been focused on privileged identity from which she has developed the Privileged Identity Exploration Model, which identifies defensive reactions displayed in difficult dialogues. She introduces these same ideas with younger students by working with K-12 school districts on training educators on how to facilitate difficult conversations in classrooms.

Martin-Stanley II received the Phillip G. Hubbard Human Rights Award for his outstanding contribution in the area of human rights. His area of research focuses on persistence and retention of Black men at historically and predominantly white institutions. Martin-Stanley has been recognized for this research by the Martin Luther King Jr. Research Symposium for the past two years. 

Read an Iowa Now story that honors all of this year’s Hancher-Finkbine Award recipients.