Distinguished Alumni and Fellows

PHOEBE ELLSWORTH ’61 DPH

HOPKINS’ 2021 DISTINGUISHED ALUMNA

Dr. Phoebe Ellsworth, Ph.D. ’61 DPH, one of the founding scholars of contemporary psycho-legal research, will be honored this year as a Hopkins Distinguished Alumna. Dr. Ellsworth was one of the fi rst researchers to systematically apply psychological theory and method to the empirical study of the legal system, conducting pioneering studies on death penalty attitudes, eyewitness performance, and juries. She has focused some of her research on the causes and consequences of false convictions in the U.S., including the psychological processes that can lead police and investigators to mistakenly decide that a person is guilty and to stick with that assessment despite evidence to the contrary.

Dr. Ellsworth, who retired in 2018 as Frank Murphy Distinguished University Professor of Psychology and Law at the University of Michigan, is one of the originators of Appraisal Th eory of Emotion, which suggests that emotions are extracted from our “appraisals,” i.e. evaluations or interpretations, of events. Th ese appraisals lead to diff erent specifi c reactions in diff erent people. Emotions that are often thought of as basic categories, such as happiness, sorrow, and anger, are actually combinations of more fundamental appraisals such as novelty, valence, agency, and control. So, for example, if something bad happens and the person thinks some other person was the agent, the person feels angry; if they think they themselves caused it, they will feel shame; and if they think it was caused by circumstances beyond anyone’s control, they will feel sorrow. She has also worked on projects that examine how cultures shape emotional experience, expression, and behavior. She is the author of more than 130 articles, books, and commentaries that have received more than 25,000 citations. Her book Emotion in the Human Face (with P. Ekman and W.V. Friesen), has been cited alone more than 4,500 times.

A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, she has received many honors in her career, among them the Psychology’s Career Contribution Award and Legacy Award; the Society for Experimental Social Psychology’s Distinguished Scientist Award; the Cornell University Lifetime Achievement Award in Law, Psychology, and Human Development; and the American Psychological Foundation’s Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology. Th e annual Phoebe Ellsworth Psychology and Justice Symposium was established in her honor in 2001.

Two Class of 1997 alumni will share the spotlight next year as 2020–2021 Hopkins Fellows: Dr. Candice Norcott, Ph.D., and Dr. Aneesh Garg, M.D. Although each was scheduled to visit campus this fall and spring, their visits have been postponed and will be rescheduled in the fall of 2021.

CANDICE NORCOTT, PH.D. ’97

SELECTED AS A HOPKINS FELLOW

Candice Norcott, Ph.D. ’97 is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the University of Chicago, where she is an assistant professor and behavioral health liaison to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Norcott is also a national consultant and public speaker. Her work encompasses providing trauma-informed reproductive health services to adolescent girls and young women. She was also recently appointed as the Director of Graduate Medical Education Wellness for the University of Chicago. Dr. Norcott speaks internationally on issues related to trauma, gender, and race. She was recently featured on the Lifetime docu-series “Surviving R. Kelly,” and was twice a guest on Jada Pinkett Smith’s Red Table Talk as an expert discussing the impact of sexual abuse on girls and young women, and the intersection of race. Th roughout her career, Dr. Norcott has been committed to trauma-informed and genderresponsive services for girls and women, minority advancement in psychology, and cultural responsiveness in the health fi eld.

ANEESH GARG, M.D. ’97

SELECTED AS A HOPKINS FELLOW

Asports medicine and non-surgical orthopaedic physician at Hughston Clinic Orthopaedics in Nashville, Tennessee, and team physician for USA Hockey and U.S. Soccer, Dr. Aneesh Garg ’97 is a specialist in concussion treatment and management, acute muscle and tendon injuries, and non-surgical fracturecare. In addition to serving on the sports medicine teaching faculty at numerousuniversities and hospitals, Dr. Garg is also the Medical Director of Sidelined U.S.A., a nonprofi t organization that reunites permanently sidelined athletes with their passion in sports and inspires them to fi nd a meaningful way forward. A graduate of Trinity College, Hartford, and A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, Dr. Garg completed his residency in internal medicine at Yale New Haven Hospital.