Four professors from the University of Houston College of Education have earned national recognition for their contributions to the fields of counseling and school psychology.
The honors cover research achievements and service to the profession, putting a spotlight on faculty in the College’s counseling psychology and school psychology Ph.D. programs.
Counseling Psychology & School Psychology Honorees
Blake Allan, professor and co-director of the College’s counseling psychology doctoral program,
received the 2026 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Society for Vocational
Psychology.
Nathan Grant Smith, professor of counseling psychology and associate dean for research, received the
2026 Dorothy Booz Black Award for Outstanding Contributions in Counseling Health Psychology
from the Society of Counseling Psychology.
Robert McPherson, distinguished professor of counseling psychology, was recognized by the Society
of Counseling Psychology for his lifetime contributions to the field. He also received
the society’s 2025 John D. Black Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Practice
of Counseling Psychology.
Milena Keller-Margulis, professor of school psychology and chair of the Department of Psychological, Health,
& Learning Sciences, was inducted into the Society for the Study of School Psychology.
Allan, previously recognized by the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status, studies how work and employment affect well-being.
“Work is a critical part of our lives, and how it affects our mental health depends on the quality of our jobs, including whether they are well paying, stable, secure and meaningful,” he said. “My research focuses on defining ‘good’ and ‘bad’ jobs and identifying what affects who can get a good job, and how the quality of the jobs we hold affects our mental health and well-being.”
Smith, honored for his work in the area of health psychology, studies stress and coping in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities, including the impact of sexual minority stress on substance abuse, mental health and stress physiology dysregulation.
“Queer and trans folks deserve health equity, and I’m pleased to have played a small part in moving the field closer to that goal,” he said, noting that after working in the field for 30 years, the recognition by his peers provides motivation to continue his research. “Beyond that, one of my proudest accomplishments has been to mentor over two dozen doctoral students, as well as students earning their master’s and undergraduate degrees, who are also working toward LGBTQ+ health equity.”
Allan’s and Smith’s awards were presented at the annual American Psychological Association convention in Washington, D.C. Allan, Smith and McPherson all are APA Fellows in counseling psychology.
McPherson, also a clinical professor at UH’s Tilman J. Fertitta Family College of Medicine, was recognized by the Society of Counseling Psychology this summer as one of nine people “whose lifetime contributions have had a profound and enduring impact on the field.”
His 2025 award from the society, which is a division of the American Psychological Association, recognizes a senior psychologist who has sustained a record of outstanding contributions that have significantly impacted the field.
McPherson previously served as dean of the College of Education and interim provost at UH and is a Fellow of the American Educational Research Association. His research interests include the use of technology to assess and address how health and educational disparities influence mental health and academic achievement. He and former UH colleague Stewart Pisecco co-founded an education software company which was acquired by Pearson in 2012 and continues to serve millions of students.
McPherson said that after more than 40 years as an educator, starting as a teacher and counselor in West Texas, he continues to believe the field of counseling psychology is critical to ensuring all students receive the educational and psychological services they need.
“What I have brought to the table is persistence and pragmatism from many years in classrooms and clinics, watching good ideas struggle to scale,” said McPherson, a graduate of the College’s counseling psychology Ph.D. program. “I’m grateful to the University of Houston for a career spent working alongside people smarter than me while I keep asking the same question: How do we make sure the benefits of psychological science reach the people who need them most? Today, I think the answer runs through the power of AI in the hands of psychologists who will value people over profit.”
Keller-Margulis, whose induction into the Society for the Study of School Psychology recognizes her research contributions to the field, studies issues related to academic screening — focusing on early identification of problems that, left unaddressed, can negatively impact long-term success in school.
In her previous role as a school psychologist in public schools, Keller-Margulis recognized there were critical gaps in the technical adequacy and cultural appropriateness of academic screening measures for diverse student populations, including multilingual learners.
“Through my work on academic screening and curriculum-based measurement, I hope to improve our understanding of children’s learning trajectories and ensure that emerging difficulties are identified early, across diverse linguistic and developmental backgrounds,” she said. “All children deserve the opportunity to develop the skills they need to access future learning, participate meaningfully in society and thrive.”