Alumni National Awards

College of Education Award Recipients

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Achievement Award



Michael B. MadsonDr. Michael B. Madson, Grad ’05
Hattiesburg, Miss.


Since being honored in 2007 as the School of Education’s Young Alumnus of the Year, Mike has continued to significantly advance the field of psychology through innovative research and dedicated mentoring to the next generation of professional counselors and psychologists.

Mike says mentoring students throughout their academic and professional journeys is what he loves most about his work as professor and director of undergraduate studies in psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi. “Success to me is seeing my students achieve their goals and all the accomplishments they make along the way,” he says. Recently, USM recognized Mike’s outstanding work in this area with the 2017 Mentoring/Advising Award.

Mike is a leading researcher on the social-cognitive and mental health-related variables that help predict safe and harmful substance abuse by college students, and has co-authored a book on the fundamentals of motivational interviewing to address common clinical challenges. With 60-plus peer-reviewed journal articles and over $3.8 million in grants and contracts, he was recognized by USM with a 2013 Applied Research Innovation Award.

His contributions to the psychology profession have included serving on the board of the American Psychological Association and extensive involvement with the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students. While attending Marquette, Mike was heavily involved in service and leadership within his program.

The Marquette mission, Mike says, “is a staple of my everyday encounters at Southern Miss. … I try to implement excellence, faith, leadership and service through all of my interactions with my colleagues and students. This involves modeling these qualities and guiding students to live this mission through their academic and professional pursuits.”

Fun fact: Mike embraces Southern culture in his community involvement. He helps plan the
Downtown Crawfish Jam in Hattiesburg, a music and crawfish fest that raises funds for local social justice initiatives, and also in the Downtown BBQ Showdown, where attendees sample great southern BBQ while raising funds for local community agencies.