Belonging and Access
Fostering Belonging, Promoting Access
The Department of Psychology at Syracuse University is committed to supporting and promoting the belonging of all cultural, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, gender, sexual orientation, ability, and age identities within the university and surrounding community. We continue to be committed to creating a welcoming environment for all. Like the University’s commitment to Belonging and Access we aspire to be an open, accessible and unified campus environment for all students, faculty, and staff. Below you can learn more about how we attend to fostering belonging and promoting accessibility in our classrooms, research, clinical practice, and programming.
Research
Faculty in all subdisciplines represented in the department are committed to shaping a future where all voices are valued. We do this by training graduate and undergraduate students across all backgrounds and offering inclusive research training opportunities. Below, please find selected examples of faculty research programs and student research training opportunities (Click each faculty name for detailed information).
- Dr. Sara Burke’s research focuses on intergroup bias by examining stereotypes, prejudice, discrimination, and experiences of stigma.
- Dr. Leonard Newman’s research focuses on the motivational aspects of social cognition specifically in dehumanization, social stigma, and defensive and self-protective processes in judgment and memory.
- Dr. Catherine Cornwell is specialized in research related to animal models of early-life adversity and enrichment effects on sensory, cognitive and social development
- Dr. Aesoon Park specializes in research on differential risk pathways (e.g., racial discrimination, alcohol metabolism genes) toward health disparities in alcohol use/misuse, substance use, & sleep deficiency among individuals from racial/ethnic minorities and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
- Dr. Sarah Woolf-King‘s research focuses on the development of behavioral and psychological interventions to enhance the well-being of people of marginalized genders and sexualities and people living with HIV.
- Dr. Stephen Maisto’s research focuses on the effects of alcohol and sexual risk in men who have sex with men and implications for HIV prevention and intervention.
- Dr. Les Gellis’ research involves the association of socioeconomic status with sleep problems.
- Dr. Tanya Eckert’s research relates to the assessment and intervention of children’s academic and behavioral difficulties. She conducts randomized clinical trials to improve the academic and behavioral functioning of elementary-aged students in urban school settings.
- Dr. Natalie Russo’s research focuses on strengths and weaknesses in sensory, perceptual, attentional and cognitive processes among individuals with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities.
- Dr. Katie Kidwell studies health behaviors in children, adolescents, and young adults, including among individuals from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. Her team develops personalized clinical interventions aimed to improve health.
Coursework
The Department of Psychology attempts to offer a wide range of undergraduate and graduate courses that consider topics related to promoting fairness, representation, and belonging. You will find a list of some of the relevant courses below. Please consult the course catalog for a complete listing of courses in Psychology.
- Undergraduate
- PSY 205 Foundations of Human Behavior
- PSY 329 Biopsychology Perspectives on Women's Health
- PSY 375 Cross Cultural Psychology
- PSY 379 Social Psychology of Stigma
- Graduate
- PSY 617 - Individual Differences and Developmental Disability
- PSY 640 - Psychology of Gender
- PSY 775 - Stereotyping, Prejudice and Stigma
- PSY 860 – Diversity and Cultural Issues in Assessment and Psychotherapy
Clinical Training and Practice
In our psychology doctoral student training clinic, we honor, value, and appreciate inclusivity. Our doctoral students and faculty strive to provide quality services that are sensitive to all types of individual differences, including cultural, racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, gender, sexual orientation, ability, age and other valued components of humanity. We work to create an environment which promotes awareness and acceptance of unique individual differences. Our goal is to provide culturally-relevant and appropriate services in accordance to each client's personal preferences and needs.
Committees
Within the department, faculty and student committees promote belonging and access by supporting undergraduate and graduate training, recruitment and retention and professional development.
The student committee, in particular, is a collaborative committee of self-selected graduate students, working together to: 1) foster an inclusive and supportive environment within the Psychology Doctoral Programs, 2) create initiatives to educate and engage the broader department in achieving shared goals, 3) collaborate with the broader department to enhance program policies and procedures related to issues of representation and accessibility, and 4) pursue increased outreach and service to community organizations.