Department of Psychology professor joins two others praised by the President’s Commission on Women’s Issues for contributions to campus life

After a two-year hiatus, the University of Maryland President’s Commission on Women’s Issues (PCWI) named three 2022 Women of Influence award recipients: Utsa Santhosh, a junior computer science major and undergraduate administrative assistant for the Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing; Tami Lee, assistant director of fitness and wellness for RecWell; and Tracy Riggins, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology (PSYC). 

PCWI was established in 1973 to influence University policy pertaining to women and their quality of life on campus.

Santhosh, Lee and Riggins were nominated by colleagues and ultimately selected by the commission for their mentorship, work/life balance, social and political justice, and sexual harassment prevention efforts with and for women in the University of Maryland community. 

Jude Casiddy, PSYC professor and chair of the department’s awards committee, nominated Riggins for the part she played in creating online communities where campus goers can share ideas and resources concerning families.

“On multiple occasions Dr. Riggins saw a need, thought about it, creatively devised a solution, and did the work to make it happen, thereby helping multiple faculty, students, families, and children,” said Cassidy. “This is a wonderful model for service at its best: from the heart and mind, with generosity, to enrich the well being of others.”

However, if you ask Riggins about the extra steps she took in 2014 to start UMDParents, a Google groups now listed on University Human Resources’ Family Care page for UMD students, faculty and staff who are parents and caregivers, she’ll tell you she had never really thought about her efforts that way.

“When Jude was putting my nomination together, I told her ‘I just don’t know, this is just something I do’; being recognized is not something that motivates me,” said Riggins. “But to think that my colleagues saw what I was doing and said ‘She’s doing a lot of things to make us feel like included members of the community', I am honored.”

Riggins, too, has benefited from being a part of this community. Riggins is a mother of three—to an 11-year-old named Brynn, 9-year-old named Delaney, and 6-year-old named Cole. The family lives in Arnold, Md.

Riggins also cares about her developmental psychology students. When she heard how many students’ internships were canceled during the early days of COVID-19, and experienced firsthand just how hard it was to work at home while children were also trying to learn at home, she created a Google sheet where families who needed tutoring or at-home school help could exchange contact information with students seeking hand-on experience. In just 2-3 days, 50 families and 50 students signed up. 

“One month ago, a graduate student emailed me out of the blue and said ‘That list that you created back in 2020 allowed me to finish writing my dissertation because I found someone who was able to come and take care of my kids while I was finishing the last chapter,’” said Riggins. “I was just thrilled to hear that, to know that by doing something small, you can help somebody in a big way.” 

As a member of the PCWI—Chair Emerita Ellin K. Scholnick asked her to join in 2014—Riggins has continued to help the campus community by participating in conversations concerning the new University of Maryland Child Development Center, the installment of campus lactation rooms, and creating another Google discussion group, umd-eldercare, for those in the UMD community who are caring for or preparing to care for their senior relatives and loved ones.

She’s also continued to help others at UMD and beyond by way of her teaching and Neurocognitive Development Laboratory’s research: How children think, learn and remember, and the developmental changes that occur in the brain as that happens. Riggins is currently a principal investigator for a landmark, NIH-funded study on prenatal substance use and other environmental factors’ impact on children’s brain development—the HEALthy Brain and Child Development (HBCD) study—and another on the role that sleep plays in memory and brain development. 

“I've had many wonderful mentors throughout my career. I’ve done my best work when I’ve felt supported to think big thoughts and to try experiments and fail. I try to do whatever I can to help others feel that way,” said Riggins. “When you notice a problem or something you wish your environment had, one option is to lament the fact it does not exist and gripe about it.  Another option is to think ‘Can I do something to change that?’ That’s the approach I have taken.  Starting a listserv was a relatively easy thing to do, but its effects snowballed over time and was able to have a large impact.” 

An awards ceremony will be held via Zoom on May 6 from 2-3:30 p.m.