Emory L. Cowen, professor of psychology and psychiatry in the Department of Clinical and Social Sciences in Psychology at the University of Rochester, will receive the John Romano Award from the Mental Health Association of Rochester/Monroe County.
The annual award honors those who have made "devoted, sustained and useful contributions" to individuals with mental illness and their families. Romano was a Rochester physician, psychiatrist, healer and teacher whose compassion eased the plight of the mentally ill. The award was first given in 1983.
Cowen will receive the award May 21 at the Mental Health Association's annual meeting in Rochester.
Started in 1957, the Primary Mental Health Project (PMHP) was developed by Cowen and his colleagues at the University as an early intervention model for young children exhibiting school adjustment difficulties. It has received national recognition for helping children and is now in use in school districts around the world.
Cowen directs the University's Center for Community Study, which initiates research and develops prevention programs for children. Since 1987, he and other psychologists have been studying urban children through the Rochester Child Resilience Project to discover the forces that make children psychologically resilient.
Cowen also has received the American Psychological Association's 1989 Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest, and the Seymour B. Sarason Award for Community Research and Action in 1995.