Indiana University has named four faculty members as 2025 Distinguished Professors, the most prestigious appointment offered to honor faculty whose outstanding scholarship, artistic or literary distinction, or other achievements have won significant recognition by peers.
Cynthia Graham, a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Gender Studies at IU Bloomington and a Kinsey Institute senior scientist, is one of the most highly regarded and influential scientists on issues of sexuality and gender in the world. Her pioneering research is known and used around the world by scientists, clinicians, students, industry innovators and the press.
Graham’s rigorous and expansive research focuses on four categories: condom use and misuse, sexual health and aging, innovative sex education interventions for youth, and the use of technologies and artificial intelligence strategies to understand and improve sexual health.
She has received numerous awards, including the Masters and Johnson Award and the Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award. She is also a Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality and the British Psychological Society.
She has served as editor-in-chief of The Journal of Sex Research for over 15 years. As editor of this flagship journal, Graham has overseen the creation of a gold standard editorial board and peer review process and standards; commissioned focal research articles; and shaped and made indelible marks on the field of sexual science.
Her research and reputation as unimpeachable led to her appointment to a work group on the latest revision of the American Psychiatric Association’s widely used clinical reference book, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. She is widely regarded as a thoughtful and innovative researcher, with scores of scientists and scholars across disciplines and institutions benefiting from her research, collaboration and guidance.
The College of Arts