Accolades is an occasional News Center feature that highlights recent accomplishments of UT Dallas faculty and students. To submit items for consideration, contact your school’s communication manager.

American Heart Association Honors Associate Dean for Promoting Heart Health 

Diane McNulty portrait

Dr. Diane McNulty

Dr. Diane McNulty MS’78, PhD’84, associate dean for external affairs and corporate development in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at UT Dallas, was honored recently by the Dallas chapter of the American Heart Association (AHA) at its annual Go Red For Women Luncheon.

McNulty, a survivor of a congenital heart defect, received the Sandi Haddock Community Impact Award for her role as a female leader who has significantly improved the health of women in the community.

“Before I knew about the American Heart Association, it was there for me,” said McNulty, whose story was recounted in a video shown at the luncheon. “The association has funded many breakthroughs, saving countless lives — like mine.”

Support for her own health challenges has fueled McNulty’s passion and work on behalf of the American Heart Association for almost 30 years. With her friend Ann Dyer — a Dallas businesswoman she has known since college — McNulty co-founded the Game of Hearts, a luncheon fundraiser, and the AHA’s Women’s Heart Guild, a forerunner of the Go Red For Women movement, which advocates for more research and swifter action for women’s heart health.

She also has served on the Dallas Division AHA Board of Directors, and she chaired the 2001 Côtes du Coeur ball, the largest American Heart Association fundraiser in the country.

The Go Red For Women Luncheon invitation noted, “Diane’s unwavering dedication has resulted in millions of dollars raised for the American Heart Association to fund lifesaving research, education and advocacy impacting the entire Dallas community.”

Interdisciplinary Studies Lecturer Honored for Book on Single Mothers Earning Degrees

Jillian Duquaine-Watson holding her book

Dr. Jillian Duquaine-Watson

Dr. Jillian Duquaine-Watson, program head of the Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies and senior lecturer in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at UT Dallas, received a 2018 Outstanding Publication Award for her book Mothering by Degrees: Single Mothers and the Pursuit of Postsecondary Education.

The American Educational Research Association award recognizes scholarship that extensively revises public knowledge and understanding of a particular problem in higher education or looks at it in a new way. The association presented the award on April 14 at its annual meeting in New York City.

Duquaine-Watson’s book, published by Rutgers University Press in 2017, focuses on the experiences of women trying to balance the often-competing roles and responsibilities of being college students and single mothers.

“I am honored by this award, and I hope my project will not only draw increasing attention to the experiences of single mothers who are attending college, but also help create a more welcoming, inclusive and supportive environment on campuses across the U.S. for this growing but often overlooked student population,” Duquaine-Watson said.