USU distinguished professor
Rising to the ranks of only four other Utah State University professors, E. Helen (Eddy) Berry was honored Tuesday as a Distinguished Professor of USU.
The award is given by the Women & Gender Research Institute which was originally created by Berry and her coworkers in 1984.
Berry said the group began meeting in her living room to discuss ways they could find support for their work on campus.
Even today, her role on campus continues to grow. She has become known as a national expert on issues surrounding the use of human subjects in research.
She has moved from a regular member to a chair of multiple committees. Between committee meetings, trips to Washington D.C., and her normal load on campus, friends say she does more than her share of work.
This weekend, she said she’ll be giving a lecture in Los Angeles about her studies on minority migration. But she said lectures away from home don’t affect her nearly as much as her acceptance speech did on Tuesday, she said.
“I’ve been shaking all day to give this talk,” Berry said. “It’s always hardest to give a talk to people you like and respect. Always.”
With a shyness that has survived her heavy involvement, Berry says she never set out to be a role model. Rather, she considers many of her own coworkers just as worthy to receive WGRI’s award. The award, though not exclusive to women, has only been awarded to five professors-all women -since 1993.
Terry Peak, director of USU’s social work program, originally nominated Berry for the award. She said Berry is one of the reasons she finds happiness here and applauds her friend’s teaching and mentoring abilities.
Berry’s husband, Stan Laughlin, describes his wife of 19 years as “pretty intense about what she does.” Her interest in improving the social and cultural realms around her spill into much of what she does.
“We laugh a lot in our house,” Laughlin said.
-jfullmer@cc.usu.edu