The Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology hopes that this Final Report will provide useful information and guidance not only to the governing leadership of the American Psychological Association (APA), but also to individual psychologists involved in teaching, research, and practice and others throughout the nation's academic communities. Consequently, the Commission has continually and aggressively solicited rigorous and critical comment from a wide array of organizations and groups with vested interests in the various effects of diversity on education and training in general, and on the discipline of psychology in particular.

For example, Commission representatives attended and made presentations at meetings of the APA State and Division Leadership Conferences, the Council of Graduate Departments of Psychology, the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology, the American Council on Education, and nearly a dozen state psychological associations. In addition, the Commission sponsored or participated in a total of eight events at the 1995 and 1996 APA Conventions at which various comments and other types of contributions were formally solicited. Numerous Commission items were placed for comment and review in the Consolidated Agenda Books of APA's governance committees and boards, and special conference committees were called to ensure the requested comment was received in a timely manner. Comments also were solicited from all of the national ethnic minority psychological associations. And of course, comments were repeatedly solicited from the Commission's monitors and panels of expert members and from APA's general membership.

Soliciting and receiving the volume of thoughtful comment involved in the shaping of this Final Report require cumbersome and time consuming processes. The Commission wishes to acknowledge the critical role that APA's staff liaisons to the APA governance groups played in ensuring that these processes proceeded in an efficient and timely manner. In addition, from the Commission's inception, APA's Research Office under the leadership of Jessica Kohout, PhD, provided timely research and statistical assistance, which was essential for the development of this Final Report and other CEMRRAT projects.

The Commission wishes to provide special acknowledgement to the following APA staff who graciously assumed the additional responsibility of coordinating the efforts and interests of their office or directorate and constituents with those of the Commission.

American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Office: Todd Mook
Education Directorate: Ed Bourg, PhD, Paul Nelson, PhD, and Jill Reich, PhD
Membership Services Office: Pat Miyamoto
Minority Fellowship Program: Ernesto Guerro and James M. Jones, PhD
Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs: (Primary CEMRRAT Staff): Alberto Figueroa-Garcia,
Bertha G. Holliday, PhD, Debra J. Perry and Sherry T. Wynn
Practice Directorate: Marquette Turner
Public Communications Office: Rhea Faberman and Pamela Willenz
Public Interest Directorate: Henry Tomes, PhD
Public Policy Office: Brian Smedley, PhD
Research Office: Sislena Grocer and Jessica L. Kohout, PhD
Science Directorate: Merry Bullock, PhD

Appreciation also is extended to Angela Miner and Joanne Zaslow, who provided
graphic art and editorial assistance.