Past Events

Special Events 2010-2011 Academic Year:

The Center for Excellence in Diversity accomplishes several special events and projects aimed at promoting excellence in scholarship:

1.  Forming a partnership with the Office of Professional Development, and the PAU Diversity Committee to evaluate clinical training sites and to offer Center for Excellence in Diversity Award. The overarching purpose of the PAU CED award is two‐fold: 1) recognition of sites that are strong in the area of diversity training and service; and 2) incentivize sites to develop stronger multicultural training.

2.  Exploring alternative models in teaching diversity issues such as the videotaping of course lectures so that students can learn from videotaped lectures and instructors can spend less time lecturing and more time providing individual mentoring and small group interactions in the course.

3.  Reviewing the many available commercial videotapes on multicultural therapy and selecting the best ones for establishing a videotape library at the University

4.  Initiating a guest lecture series to expose faculty and students to some of the top lecturers to diversity issues.  For example, Dr. Lonnie Snowden, one of the Science Editors for the Surgeon General’s report on ethnicity and mental health, lectured on African American mental health (March 7, 2011); Caroline Kwok, who has written several books and has lectured throughout the world, discussed her experience as an immigrant woman diagnosed with bipolar disorder (February 28, 2011).  Video tapes of the lectures will be added to the videotape library.

5.  Developing a Center-sponsored faculty seminar series (beginning in January 2011).  Faculty members are assigned some papers to read and then discuss the papers in an open forum.  Students from throughout the University are invited to observe the discussion.  The topics include:

Ethnicity, race, and culture:  What are we talking about? 

How have/or should these terms be defined, and for what purposes?   For example, is race an ineradicable feature of persons, like mammalian, or is it a socially constructed and possibly malleable category without necessary biologic anchors, akin to gender role?  What are the implications of our definitions for psychological interventions and research?  

Is Psychological Science Biased Against Ethnic Minorities

In the past, research has been used to document the biological and cultural inferiority of ethnic minority groups.  Even now, studies of racial or ethnic differences have been accused of being biased?  Does bias exist?  If so, how can it be identified and eliminated in our research and theories. 

Ethnic and race relations:  Why we can’t all just get along

Despite major advances in addressing human problems (e.g., health, technology, etc.), racial and ethnic strife has persisted for centuries.  Have we really made advancement in race and ethnic relations or has racism simply evolved into a more insidious and subtle form?  What can we do to overcome racism? 

Cultural Competency:  Necessity or Political Correctness?

What is cultural competency?  Is cultural competency necessary in treatment and professional practice or is this the latest fad in professional practice?  What evidence is there that cultural competency is beneficial?

The seminar series provide an unprecedented opportunity for faculty and students to learn, interact, and voice their views about often-controversial and critical issues.6.  Providing mentorship and faculty collaboration.  The Center will work closely with junior faculty to review their research and scholarship in order to improve the quality and quantity of their work. 

7.  Providing consultation to faculty who wish to improve the teaching of diversity in their courses.

8.  Helping to organize students and faculty who wish to present papers at conferences and conventions pertinent to diversity issues.

9.  Initiating a website that will allow on a national level communications about diversity issues and concerns.

10.  Encouraging diversity considerations throughout the University.  For example, the Diversity Committee, LGBTQ Program, and Center for Excellence in Diversity successful advocated for the inclusion of a “diversity-interested” faculty member on each of the search committees for the five faculty positions that are open this year. 

11. Establishing the Asian Pacific American Psychological Student Association (APASA) as a campus recognized organization in order to respond to the needs of the Asian American students who are interested in clinical practice and research on Asian Americans.

12.  Publicizing activities on national level and becoming involved in psychological organizations and their governance.