Dr. Ronald Haskins, Co-Director of the Center on Children and families at the Brookings Institution and Senior Consultant at the Annie E. Casey Foundation, is the 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award is given annually to an alum of our UNC Chapel Hill Psychology and Neuroscience graduate programs. The Distinguished Alumnus/Alumna Award is given to an alum who has made a significant contribution to the field and who have distinguished themselves professionally. Dr. Haskins is a 1975 graduate of the Developmental Psychology program and is a former senior White House and congressional advisor on welfare issues. Dr. Haskins co-directs the Brookings Center on Children and Families and Budgeting for National Priorities Project. An expert on preschool, foster care, and poverty, he was instrumental in the 1996 overhaul of national welfare policy. He is also a contributor to the Evidence Speakers paper project. His areas of expertise include welfare reform, child care, child support, marriage, child protection, and budget and deficit issues. In 1997, Dr. Haskins was selected by the National Journal as one of the 100 most influential people in the federal government.
Dr. Haskins presented “Social Science Rising: The Growing Influence of Evidence in Policy Development” at the annual Distinguished Alumnus Address. Dr. Peter Ornstein, a professor of Developmental Psychology and Director of the Developmental Psychology Program, presented Dr. Haskins with the Distinguished Alumnus Award on February 24, 2016.