After two decades of service, achievements, and contributions to the Program in Human Biology and the greater Stanford community, Dr. Catherine “Cathy” Heaney, an esteemed professor of psychiatry and member of the Stanford Prevention Research Center, will retire from Stanford University at the end of the academic year. Heaney’s contributions to HumBio have been invaluable to the program’s success, and she has profoundly impacted the lives of the many students and colleagues with whom she has worked.
As a dedicated member of the HumBio community, Heaney’s warmth, generosity, and thoughtfulness have profoundly shaped the program in numerous ways. Heaney first joined the Human Biology Program during the 2005–2006 academic year, when she taught a class on social justice, responsibility, and health (HumBio 84Q) and initiated her popular Community Health Psychology course (HumBio 128/Psych 101) to a cohort of sixty-three students. Over the years, she has provided her students with a rigorous and engaging exploration of critical topics in community health, such as the bio-behavioral factors in health, chronic disease management, health disparities, and health behavior promotion and change. Heaney’s courses have fostered essential skills in critical thinking and analytical reasoning, empowering students to navigate complex challenges with empathy and insight.
For several years, Heaney has also co-led Stanford’s Bing Overseas Program (BOSP) in Oaxaca, Mexico, providing students with unique opportunities to apply their learning in real-world contexts. Through her passion for community health, she encourages and inspires students to understand the social, economic, and cultural factors that impact local community health through clinical observations, service work, and community-based participatory research projects.
Throughout her teaching career, Heaney has taught more than 1,480 students. Her commitment to students extends beyond teaching, as is evidenced by her mentorship of over twenty-five students pursuing honors research and her advising of close to two hundred students. Colleagues and students alike admire her mentoring style; she takes the time to listen and meet each student where they are, instilling high standards while providing the encouragement they need to achieve their goals. Her students consistently praise Heaney’s patience, enthusiasm, and dedication to their learning, well-being, and success. Honors advisees have also expressed gratitude for her thoughtful feedback and support in their development as researchers.
Heaney’s devotion to service, community engagement, and above all, students’ educational experiences has earned her recognition across the Stanford community. In 2011, she received the Merton & Audrey Bernfield Director’s Award for Exceptional Contributions to Human Biology for her efforts. In 2014, she was honored with the Haas Center for Public Service’s Miriam Aaron Roland Volunteer Service Prize for her establishment of meaningful long-term community partnerships and life-changing learning and service opportunities for Stanford students.
Since 2017, Heaney has played a critical role in leading HumBio’s Executive Committee and serving on HumBio’s Awards Committee for fifteen years. In both roles, she has been instrumental in shaping the program’s policies and practices and ensuring HumBio remains true to its mission of providing students with an interdisciplinary understanding of human beings.
The Human Biology team thanks Cathy for her unwavering dedication, exceptional teaching and mentorship, and the positive contributions and influence she has imparted across the HumBio, Psychology, SPRC, and BOSP communities. We wish her a fulfilling, joyful, and well-deserved retirement filled with new adventures.