By Anna Mayor, College of Arts and Sciences
Each year, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology picks one person
from around the globe for its Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award.
The award honors an individual whose career-long empirical or theoretical work has
significantly advanced the science of industrial-organizational psychology, the study
of human behavior in workplaces and organizations.
Distinguished Professor Tammy Allen of the Department of Psychology is the 2025 recipient.
鈥淚t鈥檚 truly an honor,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen I began studying work-family issues in the
1990s, it was considered a 鈥榝ringe鈥� topic within industrial-organizational psychology.
Receiving this award in recognition for that work is especially gratifying.鈥�
Allen鈥檚 research focuses on understanding the connections between work and non-work/family,
ways to enable worker wellbeing and success and organizational practices connected
to these issues such as remote/hybrid work.
鈥淚 try to address and work toward solutions for real-world challenges faced by employees
and employers,鈥� she explained. 鈥淔or example, balancing work and family is a daily
challenge faced by millions of workers. Identifying individual and organizational
practices and policies that can enable balance and reduce conflict between work and
family roles can improve quality of life.鈥�
Allen is a highly accomplished scholar in industrial-organizational psychology, recognized
with major awards such as the Ellen Galinsky Regenerative Researcher Award and the
Herbert Heneman Jr. Award for Career Achievement.
With 165 peer-reviewed publications, four books and a Hirsch-index of 103, Allen ranks
among the top 1% of scientists globally.
She鈥檚 also a fellow of several prestigious organizations, including the American Psychological
Association and Association for Psychological Science, and has served as president
of both the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the Society of
Occupational Health Psychology.
Despite her impressive resume, Allen says her proudest professional achievement is
the work she鈥檚 done with doctoral students over the past 25 years.
鈥淚鈥檓 proud of, and inspired by, the doctoral students. They are doing amazing work
and excelling in their careers. I have former students who for example are professors
leading their own labs, executives in Fortune 500 companies, and senior scientists
doing applied research. Our collaborative endeavors have made this award possible,鈥�
she said.
USF鈥檚 industrial organizational psychology graduate program has been ranked third
in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, a ranking that Allen said is due to 鈥渇aculty
engaged in cutting edge research that crosses a variety of topics and who are highly
involved in the field鈥� combined with the creation of a 鈥渟upportive and collaborative
culture among students and faculty combined with rigorous research training.鈥�
鈥淢y advice for students considering a career in industrial organizational psychology
is to get involved in a research lab as soon as possible,鈥� Allen said. 鈥淎dmission
to grad school is highly competitive. It鈥檚 important to develop skills in research
methods and data analytics.鈥�
Allen鈥檚 future research endeavors include an NSF-supported project on remote/hybrid
work investigating the ways in which the location of the work alters the daily work
and nonwork activity patterns and role transitions of workers when they switch from
work to nonwork roles 鈥� and what that all means for health and well-being. Allen
is also member of the Executive Committee of the USF Center for Innovation, Technology, and Aging.
Learn more about the College of Arts and Sciences鈥� nationally ranked industrial organizational program and its faculty.