Gresham Riley Award

Cathey Weir '65 is a recipient of the 2024 Gresham Riley Award.

At CC, Cathey majored in Psychology, served in student government, and on the Honor Council. After graduating, she went to University College London as a Marshall Scholar, earning her Ph.D, and teaching there for 25 years. She often shared afternoon teas with CC alumni and professors visiting London.

Many of Cathey’s educational and career choices were strongly influenced by four CC Psychology professors: Drs. Freed, Roberts, Shearn, and especially her advisor, Dr. Johns. She fondly remembers innovative teaching such as a Comparative Psychology project conditioning a giraffe at the zoo that resulted in a national Science News story.

Cathey joined CC’s Psychology Department as a faculty member in 1991 and retired in 2007. She particularly enjoyed mentoring undergraduate projects that often resulted in the students presenting at academic conferences. Some projects involved outreach to the community, such as infant studies at Ft Carson Hospital and research on children for one Colorado Springs District Court.

Since retiring, Cathey co-authored a book, Interpreting Visual Art: A Survey of Cognitive Research about Pictures. For 15 years, she has taught and coordinated courses at a life-long learning institute. Cathey also participates in CC events in Washington DC and helped to plan her 50^th class reunion.

Not only has CC had a profound impact on her professional career, it also touched Cathey’s personal life. In 2001, she married alumnus Ed Parker ’63 at Shove Memorial Chapel with Ed’s father (Ed Parker ’30) and brother (John Parker ’66) in attendance.