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Stanley Sue Asian American Studies, Psychology, and Psychiatry Recipient 2000-2001 Professor Sue is a national pioneer in helping ethnic minority groups and service providers both overcome ignorance about adequate mental health services. He has spent more than 30 years studying ethnicity and mental health to ensure that members of minority groups would have access to culturally competent mental health care. While he originally planned a career in clinical psychology, history intervened. "In the late 1 960s, the civil rights movement and Vietnam War were on the minds of many students. Personal and societal values were being challenged, and I experienced some personal conflicts," Sue relates in his autobiography. "I felt committed to civil rights, but it did not initially occur to me that my chosen profession could address ethnic minority and cross-cultural issues or that a career could be built on researching such issues." Professor Sue was a pioneer in presenting empirical data on the difficulties encountered by minorities in obtaining adequate mental health care. To overcome these difficulties, Dr. Sue has developed models of culturally competent mental health care. Dr. Sue has taken this research expertise from the University into public service on the local, national, and international level. On the local level, Dr. Sue has been involved with community mental health agencies, community forums, and civil rights groups. He has participated in countless community forums and presentations on mental health. Dr. Sue's community service has earned citations from the Mayor and County Supervisors of Los Angeles, the Mayor of San Francisco, and the California Legislative Assembly. On the national level, from 1996-1998, Dr. Sue served on the interstate commission which developed national guidelines and standards for the provision of culturally competent mental health care. Dr. Sue took a major role in drafting the national standards. In 1999, Dr. Sue was one of only 20 psychologists nation-wide to be invited to the White House Conference on Mental Health. This led to tile request for Dr. Sue to serve as senior editor on the Surgeon's General's Report on Mental Health which was published in 2001. His findings were presented at the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy at the Carter Center in Atlanta. In 1996, Professor Sue was recognized by the American Psychological Association: "For his seminal research that has changed the way we think about delivery of mental health services to culturally diverse populations and profoundly affected the services that are provided to different ethnic groups. ...His courage and persistence in pioneering the field of Asian American ...psychology and mental health illustrate the qualities of rigor and vision that inform all aspects of his work and exemplify the highest potential for advancing human welfare through research in public policy." He has just received the American Psychological Association’s 2003 Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to Applied Research. His current activities include chairing the Science and Practice Committee of the Division of Clinical Psychology, American Psychological Association (2002-2003). This position allows him the opportunity to use scientific knowledge to find ways of improving the delivery of mental health services to the public. Dr. Sue believes that engaging in basic research and the application of research in public service provides scholars with tremendous satisfaction in contributing to knowledge and at the same time in promoting human welfare. In this way, it is possible to address the need to be an active citizen as well as a scientist. |
