Psychologist Champions Cultural Competence in Mental Health Field, Academic Administration

Psychologist Champions Cultural Competence in Mental Health Field, Academic Administration: As Dr. Stanley Sue planned for retirement from the University of California, Davis, this past summer, he realized he still wanted to work on projects of passion. So he shopped for another job, landing as a professor at Palo Alto University and director of its new Center for Excellence in Diversity.

As director, Sue, a pioneer among Asian-American psychologists, will examine PAU’s curriculum and recommend ways to weave more diversity and cultural competence into day-to-day teaching. Among other things, he’ll advise university officials on how to increase minority representation among students and faculty. PAU offers only psychology degrees—doctorate, master’s and bachelor’s—with undergraduates taking non-psychology courses at nearby De Anza College. Racial and ethnic minorities now represent 39 percent of the 703-student body at PAU and 26 percent of the 31 full-time faculty.