Joyce Arditti, a professor of human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, has received the university’s 2016 Alumni Award for Excellence in Research.

Sponsored by the Virginia Tech Alumni Association, the Alumni Award for Excellence in Research is presented annually to as many as two Virginia Tech faculty members who have made outstanding research contributions.

Arditti has made significant contributions in the fields of incarceration, familial systems, and the consequences of parental incarceration on children. She pioneered the interdisciplinary investigation of the intersections of the criminal justice system, family processes, and youth development outcomes.

She received the 2014 Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Outstanding Book Award for her 2012 book, Parental Incarceration and the Family: Psychological and Social Effects of Imprisonment on Children, Parents, and Caregivers.

“Dr. Arditti is exemplary as an engaged scholar,” said Anisa Zvonkovic, head of the Department of Human Development. “Her innovative body of work, which spans more than two decades, has brought insights into the experiences of disenfranchised individuals and vulnerable families. Her more recent research has helped change the way people think about incarceration, shedding light on the familial systems and long-range consequences of parental incarceration on children.”

Arditti was invited to present her research on family dynamics at the White House Workshop on Parental Incarceration in the United States, funded by the National Science Foundation and the American Bar Foundation.

Arditti’s work is known across several fields, making her a true interdisciplinary scholar, according to one colleague. She is often sought after as a consultant and speaker on mixed-methods methodology and as a reviewer for leading journals on parental incarceration issues.

“As a social scientist working in a field with high-impact consequences, Dr. Arditti exemplifies the land-grant commitment to research that matters,” said Elizabeth Spiller, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. “We are very proud of her scholarly achievements and the lives that her work has touched.”

Arditti received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia, her master’s degree from the University of Connecticut, and her doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.