Psychology Professor Comes Face to Face with His Legacy

By happenstance, Department of Psychology Professor Gregory F. Ball connected with two recipients of his namesake scholarship this semester

As Department of Psychology (PSYC) Professor Gregory F. Ball was walking out of his PSYC409: Topics in Neuroscience Seminar class during the early days of the fall 2026 semester, he was approached by a graduate student, who shared that she was a recipient of his namesake Gregory F. Ball Award. The award is a scholarship that Ball and his wife, University of Maryland School of Medicine Professor Margaret M. McCarthy, created in 2015 to support undergraduate students interested in biopsychology or neuroscience.

That student was Cansu Erkan, who graduated in May 2025 with a B.S. in Psychology and a minor in neuroscience. She only crossed paths with Ball because she — now pursuing a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology — decided to arrive early for the PSYC100 class for which she is a graduate teaching assistant.

“It felt great,” Ball recalled of that day that he and Erkan happened to randomly meet. “Helping someone who is now a graduate student in the field, who is also helping to educate the next generation of psychology undergraduates, is exactly what we were hoping the award would do.”

After completing her Ph.D. in 2032, Erkan hopes to pursue a research-focused postdoctoral fellowship at a research institute, university, or hospital, and then lead her own clinical research program. She also plans to mentor future students and researchers, and, inspired by Ball, to make a difference for students who find themselves in the shoes she was in when she received the scholarship during her junior year.

“The scholarship helped me significantly both academically and professionally. Academically, I used the award to help cover school-related expenses as I entered my senior year at UMD. Professionally, receiving the Gregory F. Ball Award reinforced my confidence that I was on the right path and encouraged me to continue seeking opportunities to develop my research interests,” she said. “I am very grateful to Dr. Ball and all of the BSOS donors who invest in students and give them the support and encouragement to pursue opportunities that may otherwise feel out of reach. I hope that as I continue my education and career, I can eventually give back to students and my community in the same way.”

But that wasn’t the only pleasant surprise that was waiting for Ball this semester. A student in that very same PSYC409 class later came up to him and shared that she, too, was a recent recipient of the Gregory F. Ball Award.

“Before I even realized I had received a scholarship under his name, I talked with Dr. Ball before class, and I could tell how much he has done and how much there is to learn from him, both in experience and in scientific knowledge,” said Unisha Poudel, a junior psychology major and neuroscience minor. “When I found out he was teaching my neuro seminar class, I felt so grateful. It made the scholarship feel more personal, because I get to learn from someone who cares about students like me. It was a really meaningful moment for me.”

Poudel hopes to earn her master’s degree, then a Ph.D. in psychology. After doing a neuropsych postdoc to learn how to do neuro assessments, she hopes to ultimately work with adults with brain disorders, and with those struggling with their mental health.

“Instead of stressing over a super heavy workload of jobs and classes, I've been able to take on leadership roles, make my study abroad opportunities possible — such as my time in Ireland — and feel more confident that I can keep working toward my goals in psychology,” Poudel said. “Thank you so much for believing in students like me, Dr. Ball. Your generosity has made a real difference in my education, and it means more than I can fully say. Because of you, I can keep going after my dream of doing neuroassessments in the future. I hope to pay your kindness forward one day.”

Ball and McCarthy created the Gregory F. Ball Award not long after Ball became the Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, a position which he held from 2014 to 2022. During that time, Ball and McCarthy also felt called to create The Dean Gregory F. Ball Student Experience Endowment, to help offset the costs students might incur taking internship opportunities in Washington, D.C.

“We care about the psychology and neuroscience field, and we wanted to support talented students going into the field,” Ball said of the origin of the Gregory F. Ball Award. “Several years later, in a meeting with the dean’s staff, I learned that we had students who were getting internships in D.C. that were really great opportunities, but students were having trouble taking advantage of these because they lacked relatively small amounts of money — they couldn’t afford the Metro fare or appropriate clothes, for example — so we decided that this was something we wanted to support as well.”

Ball and McCarthy, both alumni of Rutgers University, also established an endowed fund benefiting graduate students there.

“Getting thanked by a student out of the blue was a really nice moment in the day,” Ball said. “Relatively small contributions can make a difference in the lives of our students.” 

Published on Fri, Oct 16, 2026 - 11:37AM