Palo Alto University's PhD Clinical Psychology Program is selected as Winner of the 2017 Richard M. Suinn Minority Achievement Award by the American Psychological Association

PALO ALTO, Calif., July 23, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Palo Alto University (PAU) is very proud to announce their PhD Clinical Psychology Program has been selected as the winner of the 2017 Richard M. Suinn Minority Achievement Award by the American Psychological Association (APA) Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training II (CEMRRAT2) Task Force.

This program is deeply committed to educating well-rounded clinical psychologists who are capable and competent as both researchers and clinicians.  This balance includes learning to value evidence-based clinical models, while accepting the responsibilities psychologists have to their community, society, and profession.

Recognition from the APA award letter to PAU's PhD program: "The CEMRRAT2 Task Force was very impressed by the clinical program's upward trend of enrollment of racial or ethnic minority students which proves its commitment to recruiting, training, and graduating students of color. The program's long-time efforts to prepare and produce culturally competent practitioners of color is impressive and timely. Please note that the program's nomination was advanced by several of your own students. Such action highlights the important and valuable work the program accomplishes to mentor scholars of color. Clearly, the program's work and its dedication to the education and training of psychologists has not gone unnoticed by your students and your nomination was unanimously well received by the Task Force."

The following national awards received by PAU's PhD program and its students are a testament to the abovementioned "long-time efforts to prepare and produce culturally competent practitioners of color":

1. In 2011 the Diversity and Community Mental Health area of emphasis received APA's Board of Educational Affairs Award for Innovative Practices in Graduate Education in Psychology
2. Also in 2011 the PhD program's Diversity and Community and Mental Health area of emphasis received NCSPP Award for Innovation in Professional Psychology Education
3. Several PAU's PhD students have received APA Minority Fellowship Awards: Jeannie Celestial (2013--14), Kahanaaloha Kuikahi (2014-15) and Margareth V. Del Cid (2017-18)

This award reflects staff and faculty working together to prepare students to serve a diverse community, both locally and globally.  PAU would like to thank all their community members for their efforts to make their PhD Program one of the best in cultural competency training in clinical psychology.

About Palo Alto University
Palo Alto University (PAU) paloaltou.edu, was founded in 1975 and is dedicated to education with an emphasis in the behavioral and social sciences; to promoting future innovators and leaders for the benefit of society; to generating knowledge through research and scholarship of the highest level; and to providing services to the community informed by science and scholarship.

CONTACT
Helena Ting, [email protected], 650-520-3451, Vice President of Community Development

SOURCE Palo Alto University