May 1, 2006

California State University, Fullerton will be hosting the 18th annual Pan African Student Recognition Ceremony on Sunday, May 21, 2006, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. on the Engineering and Computer Science Lawn.

The ceremony provides a time of recognition and celebration for graduates, family, faculty and staff in which graduates receive a Kente sash, a gift, a commemorative booklet containing short biographies of the graduate candidates and a certificate. Each year, a prominent African American leader is invited to provide an inspirational message to those in attendance. This year, the university is honored to have Dr. Joseph White, professor emeritus of psychology and psychiatry at the University of California, Irvine.

For the past 44 years, Joseph L. White has enjoyed a distinguished career in the field of psychology and mental health as a teacher, mentor, administrator, clinical supervisor, writer, consultant and practicing psychologist. At UCI, he spent most of his career as a teacher, supervising psychologist, mentor and director of ethnic studies and cross-cultural programs. White received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Michigan State University in 1961. He is also the author or co-author of several papers and three books: “The Psychology of Blacks: An African-American Perspective” (1990, 1984), ”The Troubled Adolescent” (1989) and “Black Man Emerging: Facing the Past and Seizing a Future in America” (1999).

White was a pioneer in the field of Black psychology, and is affectionately referred to as the “Godfather” of Black psychology by his students, mentees and younger colleagues. His seminal article in Ebony magazine in 1970, “Toward a Black Psychology,” was instrumental in beginning the modern era of African American and ethnic psychology. In addition to his teaching and research, White has been a practicing psychologist and consultant. He has served as a supervising psychologist and staff affiliate psychologist to five hospitals and three clinical practices in Southern California. He has worked as a consultant with school districts, universities, private organizations, drug prevention programs and government agencies.

He was appointed to the California State Psychology Licensing Board by Gov. Edmund G. Brown Jr. and served as chairman for three years. He is currently a member of the Board of Trustees of The Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas.

The program is sponsored by the African American Faculty and Staff Association; Afro-Ethnic Studies Department; offices of the vice presidents for Academic Affairs, Administration and Finance, University Advancement and Student Affairs; Multicultural Leadership Center; Psychology and Sociology departments; and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

« back to News Front