About Us
Through its publications, special projects, grantsmanship, and other efforts, the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs (OEMA) seeks to increase the scientific understanding of how both culture pertains to psychology, and ethnicity influences behavior. OEMA also:
- promotes recruitment, retention, and training opportunities for ethnic minorities in psychology;
- works to increase and enhance the delivery of appropriate psychological services to ethnic minority communities and encourages all psychologists to develop some minimal level of multicultural competence;
- seeks to promote both greater inclusion of ethnic minorities in organized psychology, and development of public policies that support the concerns of ethnic minority psychologists and their communities.
Some of the specific programs administered by OEMA are the:
- Diversity Project 2000 and Beyond (DP2KB;
- APA/NIGMS model ethnic minority recruitment/retention project in the biomedical areas of psychology (which operates at 14 postsecondary institutions throughout the nation);
- CEMRRAT Implementation Grant Fund for the APA Plan for Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training;
- Psychology in Ethnic Minority Serving Institutions (PEMSI) initiative.
In addition, OEMA operates a Psychology and Racism project and a job bank service. OEMA provides administrative support for:
- APA's Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA);
- Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training in Psychology Task Force (CEMRRAT2 TF);
- Council of National Psychological Associations for the Advancement of Ethnic Minority Interests (CNPAAEMI).
