Ya-yu Lo (left), professor of special education and child development, and her doctoral advisee Morgan Nichols were recognized by the Council for Exceptional Children for their work in the field of emotional and behavioral health.
Lo received the North Carolina CEC Distinguished Service Award for the Division of Emotional and Behavioral Health for her research on behavioral and emotional disorders, which has significantly improved educational practices for students with these challenges.
Nichols earned the 2025 national CEC DEBH Carl Fenichel Memorial Research Award, which honors its namesake who was a pioneer in the education of children with severe behavior disorders. The award recognizes student research focused on children with emotional and/or behavioral disorders and is given to students completing research projects, theses or dissertations in this subject area.
Nichols’ dissertation is entitled “Effects of Function-Based Self-Advocacy Training on the Challenging Behavior and Skill Acquisition of Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders and Teacher Stress and Burnout.”