The American Psychological Association (APA) has awarded Dr. Amy K. Nuttall, Human Development and Family Studies associate professor, the prestigious Jacob Cohen Award for Distinguished Contributions to Teaching and Mentoring. This award recognizes demonstrated excellence in teaching and mentoring within the field of quantitative research methods.
The APA Division 5 (Quantitative and Qualitative Methods) award panel who selected Dr. Nuttall wrote, "We are especially impressed by Dr. Nuttall's applied, student-centered approach to teaching structural equation modeling and longitudinal methods, and by the concrete outcomes it has produced—including course projects that have yielded 20 student first-authored publications across a remarkable range of disciplines," in her award notification letter. "Her contributions to quantitative methods training are, in our view, exactly the kind this award was created to recognize."
The award ceremony took place at the APA Convention in Washington, DC, August 7, 2026.
"I am so honored to receive the Jacob Cohen Award and be included among those who have won this award, a list that includes so many distinguished methodologists, including some of my own most influential teachers and mentors," Dr. Nuttall said. “I am so touched by the words written in support of my nomination by so many of my former students crediting their successes to my teaching.”
Dr. Nuttall teaches advanced graduate statistics courses in Structural Equation Modeling and Longitudinal Modeling. Courses are open to doctoral students from across the university. Her style of applied teaching of advanced statistics includes a focus on both the conceptual and statistical basis of techniques for analyzing data as well as direct application of concepts to the analysis of data in a structured class environment. In order to facilitate student research productivity, courses culminate in a course project in which students apply models taught in class to their own data and program of research to produce a publication-quality manuscript, which students frequently go on to publish in top journals in their field.
“Through my teaching I get to support both the teaching and research missions of MSU by teaching students best practices in applying advanced modeling to address innovative research questions with real-world impact. It is so rewarding to watch these projects launch student research trajectories.”
To learn more about Dr. Nuttall, visit https://www.amyknuttall.com/