Samuel J. and Anne G. Beck Early Career Award
The Samuel J. and Anne G. Beck Early Career Award is bestowed annually for outstanding early career research in the field of personality assessment. The award honors scholars who are no more than 10 years beyond their graduate degree and whose early work has been characterized by substantial innovation and promise for the field of personality assessment and psychological test development.
Meet the Samuel J. and Anne G. Beck Award Winner,
Dr. Hilary L. DeShong!
Dr. DeShong is a tenured Associate Professor and licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Mississippi. She currently works in the Department of Psychology at Mississippi State University where she has been for 8.5 years. She will be joining the Department of Psychology at West Virginia University in January 2026 and taking on the role of Director of Clinical Training in July. Prior to joining MSU, she completed her APA-accredited predoctoral internship at the Ann Arbor Healthcare VA system and graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2017 with her doctorate degree in clinical psychology, working under the mentorship of Dr. Stephanie Mullins-Sweatt. Prior to OSU, she earned a master’s in psychology from Villanova University in 2011 under the mentorship of Dr. John Kurtz. Her research focuses on personality traits and personality pathology in relation to overall well-being and general functioning. Her research cuts across several areas of cutting-edge methodologies, with focuses on personality pathology measurement tools, personality and health variables to improve person-centered treatments, the role of personality in relation to other psychopathology, and the underlying mechanisms of transdiagnostic factors such as emotion dysregulation.
Samuel J. and Anne G. Beck Award Winners
View All Previous Award Winners Below.
The SAMUEL J. and ANNE G. BECK AWARD is bestowed annually for outstanding early career research in the field of personality assessment. The cash award is presented at the Annual Meeting.
| Year | Outstanding Early Research |
| 2023 | Tess Neal |
| 2022 | Jaime Anderson |
| 2020 | Michael Roche |
| 2019 | Ryan Marek |
| 2018 | Aidan Wright |
| 2017 | Nicole Cain |
| 2016 | J.D. Smith |
| 2015 | Dustin B. Wygant |
| 2014 | Michelle B. Stein |
| 2013 | Jennifer L. Tackett |
| 2012 | James Hoelzle |
| 2011 | Christopher J. Hopwood |
| 2010 | Matthew R. Baity |
| 2009 | Martin Sellbom |
| 2008 | Leonard J. Simms |
| 2007 | Jon Elhai |
| 2006 | Richard W. Handel |
| 2005 | Steven R. Smith |
| 2004 | Mary L. Cashel |
| 2003 | John L. McNulty |
| 2002 | Joni L. Mihura |
| 2001 | Harold Janson |
| 2000 | Radhika Krishnamurthy |
| 1999 | B. Christopher Frueh |
| 1998 | J. Christopher Fowler |
| 1997 | Margot Holaday |
| 1996 | Yossef S. Ben-Porath |
| 1995 | Seth Kalichman |
| 1994 | Carl Gacono |
| 1993 | No Award Given |
| 1992 | Stephen R. Hibbard |
| 1991 | Gregory Meyer |
| 1991 | Michael Sperling |
| 1990 | John C. Parmer |
| 1989 | G. M. Le-Xuan-Hy, SJ |
| 1988 | Patricia Thomas |
| 1987 | Richard D. Lennox |
| 1986 | Sheila M. Coonerty |
| 1985 | Arnold Wilson |