SOP/SBA Diversity Committee

The School of Psychology is committed to providing our students and faculty with an educational environment that promotes respect and appreciation for the tremendous diversity found in our world. As such, the School of Psychology sponsors the Diversity Committee -- an active committee composed of faculty and students devoted to fostering a climate of appreciation and respect for human equality for all individuals regardless of race, color, disability, national origin, religion, age, sex, and sexual orientation. The committee works to promote diversity awareness and provide diversity-related information and programs to students within the School of Psychology and throughout the campus. Common activities include:

• Providing informational heritage month materials celebrating groups such as Hispanic Heritage month, Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month, LGBT pride month, and Women’s History Month.
• Leading a “Safe Zone” initiative encouraging faculty and staff across FIT to display emblems designating their offices as safe zones where members of the LGBTQ community can expect to be treated with respect and dignity.
• Hosting a festive and informative annual holiday party celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid, Diwali, and Kwanzaa. This ever-popular event generally involves holiday-related food, refreshments, music, informational displays, and has even involved some culturally-oriented singing and dancing!
• Participating in the annual FIT International Festival by contributing interactive displays focusing on psychological topics relevant to international issues. Example themes include:
  • "The International in Me" in which festival attendees were encouraged to consider the various cultures that they have experienced throughout their lives and to share their own multicultural background or experiences
  • "Traditions from around the World" in which festival attendees shared their unique cultural traditions such as holiday festivals or traditional meals
  • "The Psychology of Acculturation" in which festival attendees learned about the theory behind the acculturation process and shared interesting stories about their experiences acculturating to other cultures
• The “Diversity Out Loud” colloquia series: a once-per-semester interactive scholarly presentation focused on a diversity related topic that occurs as part of the larger PsyD colloquium series. Examples of past topics include:
  • "Social Justice and the Role of the Psychologist"
  • "Socioeconomic Status: A Psychological Perspective"
  • "Stereotypes: Seeing Past the Label"
  • "Age(ism): Myths and Misconceptions of Growing Older"
• The “Movie Night” series: a once-per-semester event during which attendees view a diversity-related film and have an engaging and insightful discussion around the topics involved. Past films viewed and discussed have included:
  • "(A)sexual": a documentary exploring the struggle for identity for individuals that experience no sexual attraction
  • "Rabbit Proof Fence": a true-to-life drama based on the experiences of three aboriginal girls that were abducted from their homes to be trained as domestic staff and their journey home after escaping.

Active, dependable students looking to promote diversity are encouraged to join the committee by contacting the faculty committee chair, Dr. Radhika Krishnamurthy. Please provide a short message explaining your interests in diversity and why you would like to join the committee.