Becca Frazier, '09
National leadership honor society names future psychologist Leader of the Year
November 5, 2009
A 2009 alumna was dubbed the 2009 National Leader of the Year by Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society.
Rebecca Frazier, a psychology and cognitive science double major and leadership studies and women, gender and sexuality studies double minor, served as president of the University of Richmond's chapter of ODK.
ODK is a nationwide honor society that invites students who demonstrate superior scholarship, leadership and exemplary character. Frazier is now a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.
Frazier credited her success - both the ODK recognition and her acceptance into Virginia's elite graduate program - to her Jepson School experience and her faculty mentors.
"I think the skills I developed at Jepson are what helped set me apart," she said, citing her critical thinking and group dynamics classes. "When I chose Jepson I wanted something to force me outside of the box, to learn to ask the right questions."
She didn't come to the University of Richmond planning to study leadership. But, when she attended an information session for the Jepson School and heard Dr. Crystal Hoyt discuss her own research in gender, power and stereotypes, Frazier realized she could align her personal interests with her passion for scientific discovery.
When Frazier decided she wanted to study leadership and psychology, many people advised her to study industrial and organizational psychology, a fast-growing field of psychology used in business, but she had other interests.
She spent three years researching social psychology under the supervision of Jepson faculty members Crystal Hoyt and Don Forsyth.
"Through my experience with the Jepson School I had come to understand leadership outside of business leaders," she said. "When I think of ‘leadership,' I see groups, institutions and power, people interacting and normal day-to-day follower relationships."
Jepson's emphasis on service, leadership ethics and leadership's connection to philosophy also influenced her career choice. Her relationships with Jepson faculty helped propel her studies and connect her to social psychologists outside of Richmond. "I got support on a personal level," she said, "and I got really great role models."
Frazier began working in the lab for Hoyt as a helper, and eventually taking a lead role in the lab, and even finding ways to extend Hoyt's research into more cognitively focused studies. For example, Hoyt studied how people thought about female leaders; Frazier then studied why people thought that way. Although Hoyt has worked with many students during her time at Richmond, she said working with Frazier had been one of the most rewarding and memorable opportunities to mentor a student.
After working alongside Hoyt for several years, not only did Frazier present her research titled, "Can She Ever Be ‘The Man'?: The Effect of Gender on Implicit Perceptions of Leadership Ability in Applied Hiring Task," at the at the National Association for Psychological Science Conference and another paper titled, "Gender, stereotypes, and leadership: A leadership intervention for adolescent girls," the South Eastern Psychological Association Conference this year, but when John Darley, one of the nation's most distinguished social psychologists, visited the Jepson School, Frazier sat down with him to talk one-on-one.
While studying leadership, Frazier also pursued leadership roles in almost every activity in which she was involved. While at Richmond she served as president of both ODK and Psi Chi, a psychology honor society; vice president of intellectual development and vice president of communications for her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega; a psychology department teaching fellow; and co-chairwoman of the peer advising and mentoring program.
Her desire to lead was motivated by a desire to see change, she said. She ran for president of the psychology honor society because she had a vision to broaden its impact on campus, and bring more resources to students from the psychology department. She chose to run for president of ODK because she liked its mission. "It's designed to bring leaders together. Without leaders coming together to mobilize, we don't have the chance to see things change."
During Frazier's tenure, Richmond's chapter of ODK began several new programs, including a drive to provide Christmas gifts to more than 80 children through Angel Tree, the sponsoring of children under the care of MCV and an annual student-faculty luncheon to promote communication between faculty and student leaders.
For the national award, ODK looked for leaders who demonstrated leadership specific to the organization and in other arenas. Much of the success and change seen through ODK during her time as president was the result of being surrounded by committed and motivated students. "A good president is someone who delegates well," she said. "I feel fortunate to have had a fantastic group of peers supporting me."
Frazier said she also thought it helped that she had goals of pursuing and studying leadership in the future.
In June, Frazier began a full-time, fully funded doctoral program studying social psychology at the University of Virginia. After, she said she hoped to continue researching, while teaching in a university setting. Someday, perhaps the former student will become a colleague to her Jepson faculty mentors.
Want to get in touch with Becca: Email jepson@richmond.edu and we'll forward your message to her.
Article ID: 527
