DERALD WING SUE

Derald Wing Sue is Professor of Psychology and Education in the Department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College and the School of Social Work, Columbia University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Oregon, and has served as a training faculty member with the Institute for Management Studies and the Columbia University Executive Training Programs. He was the Co-Founder and first President of the Asian American Psychological Association, past presidents of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45) and the Society of Counseling Psychology (Division 17). Dr. Sue is a member of the American Counseling Association, and a Fellows of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Sue has served as Editor of the Personnel and Guidance Journal (now the Journal for Counseling and Development), is Associate Editor of the American Psychologist, Editorial Member to Asian Journal of Counselling, and has been or continues to be a consulting editor for numerous journals and publications.

Derald Wing Sue can truly be described as a pioneer in the field of multicultural psychology, multicultural education, multicultural counseling and therapy, and the psychology of racism/antiracism. He has done extensive multicultural research and writing in psychology and education long before the academic community perceived it favorably, and his theories and concepts have paved the way for a generation of younger scholars interested in issues of minority mental health and multicultural psychology. He is author of over 150 publications, 15 books, and numerous media productions. In all of these endeavors, his commitment to multiculturalism has been obvious and his contributions have forced the field to seriously question the monocultural knowledge base of its theories and practices. As evidence of his professional impact, Dr. Sue's book, COUNSELING THE CULTURALLY DIVERSE: THEORY AND PRACTICE, 2008, 5th Edition (with David Sue - John Wiley & Sons Publishers), has been identified as the most frequently cited publication in the multicultural field; since its first edition, it has been considered a classic and used by nearly 50% of the graduate counseling psychology market.

Because of a personal life-changing experience with racism directed toward his family, Dr. Sue’s research direction has progressively turned to the psychology of racism and antiracism. When he was invited to address President Clinton’s Race Advisory Board on the National Dialogue on Race and to participate in a Congressional Briefing on the “Psychology of Racism and the Myth of the Color-Blind Society”, Dr. Sue realized that the invisibility of “whiteness” and ethnocentric monoculturalism were harmful not only to People of Color, but Whites as well. These experiences and activities have resulted in his critically acclaimed book OVERCOMING OUR RACISM: THE JOURNEY TO LIBERATION, 2003 (Jossey Bass Publishers). Written primarily for the general public, it directly confronted White Americans with their White privilege, inherent biases and their unintentional oppression of Persons of Color. As expected, the book aroused intense feelings and generated difficult dialogues on race.

These reactions led Dr. Sue and his research team at Teachers College to undertake a 10-year study on the causes, manifestations and impact of racial microaggressions. Their groundbreaking work resulted in a taxonomy of racial microaggressions that empowers People of Color by making “the invisible, visible,” by validating their experiential realities, and by providing them with a language to describe their experiences. Dr. Sue is currently broadening research on microaggressions to include religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation and other marginalized groups. Contrary to the belief of most White Americans that microaggressions create minimal harm, his studies suggest that these daily assaults and insults are responsible for creating inequities in education, employment and health care and for producing emotional distress in People of Color. His most recent book, MICROAGGRESSIONS IN EVERYDAY LIFE: RACE, GENDER AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION (John Wiley and Sons Publishers) has already generated much excitement and research. It was awarded the 2010 National Diversity and Global Inclusion Book Prize Award by UnityFirst.Com. His forthcoming book MICROAGGRESSIONS AND MARGINALITY (John Wiley & Sons) extends the concept of microaggressions to many socially devalued groups in our society (race, gender, sexual orientation, class, disability, religion, etc.).

Dr. Sue’s services have been widely sought by many groups and organizations. He has also done extensive cultural diversity training for many Fortune 400 companies, institutions of higher education, business, industry, government, public schools, and mental health organizations. In that capacity, Dr. Sue has worked with mental health practitioners, university faculty, teachers, students, community leaders, senior executives, and middle-level managers. His work is recognized not only on a national level, but on an international one as well. Dr. Sue has presented and traveled in Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Macau, the Philippines, and Singapore), New Zealand and Europe. He is frequently sought as a spokesperson on issues of racism, multiculturalism, and diversity by the press and other media outlets. Dr. Sue has been interviewed on many radio programs, television specials, and is frequently quoted in the press.

As recognition of his outstanding contributions, Dr. Sue has been the recipient of numerous awards from professional organizations, educational institutions, and community groups. He has been honored by the Association for Multicultural Counseling and Development with the Professional Development Award and the Research Award; by the Asian American Psychological Association with the Leadership Award, Distinguished Contributions Award and President’s Award; by the Third World Counselors Association with the Leadership and Distinguished Contributions to Cross Cultural Theory Award; by The Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues with the Mentoring and Leadership Award; by Center for the Study of Teaching and Learning Diversity with the Diversity in Teaching and Learning Lifetime Achievement Award; by the California Psychological Association with the Distinguished Scientific Achievement to Psychology Award; by the American Counseling Association with the Professional Development Award; by the Society of Counseling Psychology, Sage Publications and The Counseling Psychologist for the Outstanding Publication of 2001; by California State University, Hayward, Alliant University and Teachers College, Columbia University for Outstanding Faculty or Teaching Awards; by the American Psychological Association with the Career Contributions to Education and Training Award and a Presidential Citation for Outstanding Service; by the National Multicultural Conference and Summit with the Dalmas A. Taylor Award; by the University of Oregon with the Outstanding Alumnus Award, by the American Psychological Foundations with the Rosalee G. Weiss Outstanding Psychologist Award, by the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues with Lifetime Achievement Award and by the Los Angeles County Psychological Association for the Distinguished Service to the Profession of Psychology Award. As evidence of Dr. Sue's stature in the field, a national study of multicultural publications and scholars concluded that "Impressively, Derald Wing Sue is without doubt the most influential multicultural scholar in the United States".