Amanda Harrist

Human Development and Family Science Associate Professor Amanda Harrist has been selected to receive the Regents Distinguished Teaching Award and the Regents Distinguished Research Award from the Oklahoma A&M Board of Regents.  Receiving both awards in one year is a rare achievement that has occurred only one other time.

Harrist joined OSU as a member of the College of Human Environmental Sciences faculty in1998. She received her B.A. from the University of Texas and her Ph.D. in child development from the University of Tennessee. She is the Bryan B. Close Professor and received the Marguerite Scruggs Award for Meritorious Research in 2007 from CHES.

“It is tremendous that OSU has recognized Dr. Harrist for her instructional and research contributions during the same year; said Dr. Shiretta Ownbey, CHES Associate Dean for Academic Programs and Services.  “Her productivity in the classroom and within the research arena serve as an inspiration to other faculty.”

Harrist teaches courses in human lifespan development, parenting and peer relations in childhood. According to Carrick Carter, a 2005 graduate of HDFS, Harrist is the kind of teacher that students remember because of her dedication to teaching. “While her work in the classroom is exceptional, Dr. Harrist goes beyond those basic teaching duties by giving individual students the information and skill to be players in the academic community,” Carter said.

Harrist’s research focuses on understanding young children’s adaptive and maladaptive social behavior during early and middle childhood. By examining family interactions and peer group dynamics, her research has led to understanding the development of children’s social competence. She has presented results of her research at national conferences of professional organizations such as the Society for Research in Child Development and the American Psychological Association.

“Dr. Harrist is a faculty member who has elevated the quality of academic programs in the college,” said Dr.  Christine Johnson, CHES Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. “Through her scholarship of discovery, she has made significant contributions to the field of child development. Through her teaching, she translates to her students the application and meaning of research.”

Harrist is currently the principal investigator on an interdisciplinary team to study childhood obesity. The $1,000,000 United States Department of Agriculture funded project Families and Schools for Health (FiSH) targets psychological issues in the families and peer groups of overweight children. By following data collected from 1200 1st graders, their teachers and parents in rural Oklahoma, the team hopes to identify the relationship between nutrition and child development and recommend programs that will improve the health of children.