Conference helps black graduate students excel in doctoral programs
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Nearly 40 black doctoral students from around the country will be participating in a four-day conference at Purdue University to help them succeed in psychology doctoral programs.The 12th annual "Black Graduate Conference in Psychology" is Thursday through Sunday (June 22-25). Eight of the 39 students are from Purdue University, and some of the other schools represented include University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Howard University, Florida International University, University of Georgia, Cornell University, Georgetown University and Indiana University.
"The conference is focused on intensive training and professional development, as well as helping African-American graduate students handle the unique pressures of being a doctoral student of color," said Mia Smith Bynum, assistant professor of psychological sciences and event organizer. "As such, it is designed to facilitate a successful transition into academia."
Jules P. Harrell, professor of psychology and interim chairperson of the Department of Psychology at Howard University, is the keynote speaker. The students, who are at different levels in their programs, can attend sessions about coping with obstacles in academia, developing and following career paths, being a minority in a new community and transitioning from student to professional or professor, said Bynum, who participated as a student in 1995 and 1996.
"It helped me to see other successful African-American psychologists doing what it is I wanted to do," she said. "Attending the conference was a pivotal moment for me because I could ask for advice and career support while creating a professional network that still helps me today."
The conference is supported by the Department of Psychological Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, the Graduate School, the Black Cultural Center, the African-American Studies Program and Research Center, and the Diversity Resource Office in the Office of the Vice President for Human Relations. The event also is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Minority Fellowship Program of the American Psychological Association.
Writer: Amy Patterson Neubert, (765) 494-9723, apatterson@purdue.edu
Source: Mia Smith Bynum, (765) 494-6996, msbynum@psych.purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
Note to journalists: Journalists are invited to talk with event organizers and participants from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday (June 23) in the East Faculty Lounge at the Purdue Memorial Union. Reporters also can attend the keynote address, given by Jules P. Harrell of Howard University, at 8 p.m. on Saturday (June 24) in the West Faculty Lounge at the Purdue Memorial Union.
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