Emeriti Excellence: A Celebration of Continued Research
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Join the UC Santa Barbara Library's Special Research Collections for an evening featuring the continued research of three distinguished faculty emeriti — Catherine L. Albanese, Brenda Major, and John Woolley. This event is presented in partnership with the UCSB Emeriti Association.
Please reach out to Jessica Law at jessicamlaw@ucsb.edu with any questions.
This event may be photographed or recorded.
Catherine L. Albanese is the J. F. Rowny Distinguished Professor Emerita in Comparative Religions in the Department of Religious Studies at UCSB. A former president of the American Academy of Religion and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she is the author of numerous books, including A Republic of Mind and Spirit: A Cultural History of American Metaphysical Religion (2007), The Delight Makers: Anglo-American Metaphysical Religion and the Pursuit of Happiness (2023), and the forthcoming Kaleidoscope: Pluralism, White Supremacy, and American Religious History.
Brenda Major, Distinguished Professor Emerita, is a pioneer in the psychology of stigma and resilience, internationally renowned for her work on the psychological and physical consequences of social stigma and discrimination and societal efforts to remediate them. She has authored over 200 papers and two edited books and is past President of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology and the Society of Experimental Social Psychology. Major is an elected fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Association for the Advancement of Science. Her awards include the 2025 William James Award and the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Mentorship Award from the Association for Psychological Science, the 2020 Distinguished Scientist Award and the 2014 Scientific Impact Prize from the Society of Experimental Social Psychology, the 2015 Donald T. Campbell Prize from the Society of Personality and Social Psychology, and the Gordon Allport Intergroup Relations Prize from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues in 1986, 1988, and 2014.
John Woolley is Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Co-Director (with Gerhard Peters) of the American Presidency Project website. He attended Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin. Before joining UCSB, he was on the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis. Woolley’s published research emphasizes monetary policy, environmental policy, and the Presidency. His funding sources include the Social Science Research Council, Brookings Institution, the NSF, and the Max Planck Institute. His work in UCSB administration spans MSI, the UCSB Washington Center, the Political Science Department, and the College of Letters and Science.
The American Presidency Project, now in its 25th year, is the largest UCSB website by traffic. The APP is an authoritative source of Presidential documents and data. Among its many recognitions are the Richard Neustadt Award from the American Political Science Association.
