A lifetime achievement award and a “Best Overall” designation were just a few of the honors Florida State University Panama City faculty and students received Sept. 25-28 at the annual conference for the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (FABA).

FSU Professor Emeritus Jon Bailey, Ph.D., took home the lifetime achievement award because of his numerous contributions to the field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) and his continued work with FABA.

“That was a special moment. It was such a surprise,” Bailey said. “It is so nice to have your work recognized by both peers and FABA members.”

Bailey, the director of the ABA Master’s Program in Psychology at FSU Panama City, founded FABA in 1980. He was the executive director of the association for 25 years and currently serves as the secretary/treasurer, media coordinator and program chairperson. He has been a professor at FSU since 1970.

“If you believe in an organization as strongly as I do, you have to put in the time,” Bailey said.

Bailey previously earned a lifetime achievement award from the Association for Behavior Analysis International and a teaching award from the American Psychological Association.

“I love working with students in our master's program [at FSU PC]. It is the best job a person could have who is ‘semi’ retired,” he said. “They give me so much and the field has given me so much that I feel I can do no less than try to give back every single day.”

FSU Panama City students presented their research at the conference with topics ranging from identifying preferences in children with autism to increasing bicycle helmet usage. One of the studies that investigated ways to improve customer service in a business setting won an award for the Best Overall Poster.

“I am so proud of all of our students who presented at this conference, and am even more thrilled that our hard work was acknowledged,” said FSU professor Amy Polick, Ph.D., who supervised the winning project. “Our students are doing amazing things for Panama City and for the field of ABA, and I am so happy to be a part of these rewarding experiences.”

Bailey said the award demonstrates the high-caliber students at FSU.

“I'm so happy for them,” Bailey said. ”We attract the best students to our graduate program from all over the country, and when they leave they get great jobs.”

Also at the conference, Polick began her role as the President-Elect of FABA, a position in which she will continue to raise awareness about ABA and its applications for individuals with a variety of behavioral needs across the state of Florida. Polick has been an FSU psychology professor and the director of the FSU Early Childhood Autism Program since 2010.

Bailey said the group’s overall success demonstrates the quality of FSU’s psychology program.

“Our program is recognized by many as one of the top ABA master's programs in the country,” he said. “We have possibly the highest pass rate of any on the Behavior Analyst Certification Exam that is given all over the U.S.”

According to the association’s website, FABA aims “to promote ethical, humane and effective application of behavior principles in settings ranging from the community group to the corporate boardroom.”

Bailey said he created the group to make the field more accessible to Floridians.

“I was coming home from my national meeting, and it occurred to me that many behavior analysts in Florida are not able to make it to a conference in Chicago or San Francisco,” he recalled. “Why not bring some of those speakers to Florida?”

FABA is open to university and college faculty, basic and applied researchers, professionals and practitioners in behavior analysis, behavior therapy or related professions such as psychiatry, education, social work, nursing, rehabilitation, physical, speech, music and occupational therapy. Members include behavior analysts, qualified mental retardation professionals, psychologists, behavior program supervisors, administrators, program directors, direct care staff and students. ­

More than 1,000 people attended FABA’s annual conference in Daytona Beach.