CONTACT INFORMATION
Department of Psychology
University of California
2121 Berkeley Way West
Berkeley, California 94704
Primary e-mail: okonofua@berkeley.edu
ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS
Assistant Professor, Psychology Department
University of California, Berkeley, CA 2016-present
Post Doctoral Researcher, Psychology Department
Stanford University, Stanford, CA 2015-2016
EDUCATION
Ph.D. in psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Advisers: Dr. Gregory Walton & Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt
B.A. in psychology and African American studies, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Advisers: Dr. Jennifer Richeson & Dr. Lindsay Chase-Lansdale June 2008
AWARDS
Cialdini Award,
Society for Personality and Social Psychology, 2018
People's Choice Award,
TheRoot 100
Distinguished Scholar Award,
Stanford University, Vice Provost of Graduate Education, 2015
Dean’s Award for Academic Excellence,
Stanford University, Black Community Services Center, 2015
Graduate Research Opportunity Award,
Stanford University, School of Humanities and Science, 2013
Diversity Travel Award,
Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), 2013
Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award,
Stanford University, Psychology One Program, 2011
First Runner-up Graduate Research Poster Award,
Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP), 2010
William H. Exum Award for scientific paper,
Northwestern University, Sociology Department, 2008
Undergraduate Fellowship,
Northwestern University, Institute for Policy Research, 2007
GRANT AND FELLOWSHIP SUPPORT
New Teacher Center
Research Grant, 2019-present
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Research Grant, 2019-present
Google/Tides Foundation
Research Grant, 2017-present
Character Lab
Research Grant, 2015-present
Social Psychological Answers to Real-World Questions, SPARQ
Fellow, 2014 - Present
Bureau of Justice Statistics, Interuniversity Consortium for Political and Social Research
Research Grant, 2013
Diversity Dissertation Research Opportunity, Stanford Vice Provost for Graduate Education,
Research Grant, 2013-2015
Diversifying Academia, Recruiting Excellence
Fellowship, 2013-2015
Ford Foundation
Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2011
National Science Foundation
Graduate Research Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2010
Ford Foundation
Diversity Dissertation Fellowship Honorable Mention, 2010
Enhancing Diversity in Graduate Education
Graduate Fellowship, Stanford University, 2009-2015
MANUSCRIPTS AND PUBLICATIONS
Walton, G. M.,
Okonofua,
J. A., Remington Cunningham, K., Hurst, D., Pinedo, A., Weitz, E., ... & Eberhardt, J. L. (2021).
Lifting the bar: A relationship-orienting intervention reduces recidivism among children reentering school from juvenile detention. Psychological Science,
32(11), 1747-1767.
Bookser, B. A.*, Ruiz, M.*, Olu-Odumosu, A.*, Kim, M., Jarvis, S. N.*, & Okonofua, J. A. (2021). Context matters for preschool discipline: Effects of distance learning and pandemic fears. School Psychology.
Okonofua, J. A., Saadatian, K.*, Ocampo, J.*, Ruiz, M.*, & Oxholm, P. D.* (2021). A scalable empathic supervision intervention to mitigate recidivism from probation and parole. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(14).
Okonofua, J. A., Perez, A. D.*, & Darling-Hammond, S.* (2020). When policy and psychology meet: Mitigating the consequences of bias in schools. Science advances, 6(42).
Okonofua, J. A., & Ruiz, M.* (2020). The Empathic-discipline intervention. G. M. Walton & A. J. Crum (Eds.). Handbook of Wise Interventions: How Social Psychology Can Help People Change, Guilford Press: New York.
Jarvis, S. N.*, & Okonofua, J. A. (2020). School deferred: When bias affects school leaders. Social Psychological and Personality Science, 11(4), 492-498.
Goyer, J. P., Cohen, G. L., Cook, J. E., Master, A., Apfel, N., Lee, W., ... Okonofua, J. A. & Walton, G. M. (2019). Targeted identity-safety interventions cause lasting reductions in discipline citations among negatively stereotyped boys. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 117(2), 229.
Okonofua, J. A. & Eberhardt, J. A. (2015). Two-strikes: Race and disciplinary action in K-12 schooling. Psychological Science.
Okonofua, J. A., Walton, G. M., & Eberhardt, J. A. (2016). A vicious cycle: Racial bias and perceptions of bias interactively perpetuating disproportionate discipline. Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Okonofua, J. A., Paunesku, D., & Walton, G. M. (2016). A brief intervention to encourage empathic discipline halves suspension rates among adolescents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
