July 13, 2011
National Science Foundation honors Thurston
Linda P. Thurston, assistant dean of the College of Education and professor of special education, counseling and student affairs, has received a Director’s Award of Excellence for her work as a program officer with the National Science Foundation, Arlington, Va.
Thurston is serving in a rotator position with the Education and Human Resources Directorate at the foundation, where she works with the Research in Disabilities Education program in the Division of Human Resource Development and with PRIME, Promoting Research and Innovation in Methodologies for Education and Human Resources in STEM, a new program in the Division of Research on Learning.
She is an originating member of the Directorate’s Evaluation Task Force and was part of the development of the PRIME program.
Thurston was recognized for "her recent accomplishments as a speaker at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women activities; as the lead for the Division of Human Resource Development process to develop a Theory of Change Model; and as the current lead in the development of an evaluation guide for Projects for Broadening the Participation of underrepresented minorities, women and girls, and individuals with disabilities in the STEM," said Subra Suresh, National Science Foundation director who presented the award along with Cora Merrit, deputy director.