Susan Opotow, PhD, was awarded a Presidential Citation for her commitment to the identification and elimination of all forms of social injustice.
Opotow is a social psychologist and justice researcher. A scholar of conflict and injustice, her research examines social psychological conditions and processes that widen and narrow the scope of justice over time. In addition to social justice, her research and teaching focuses on peace, conflict resolution, hate and hate crimes. She also studies environmental justice.
Throughout her career Opotow has used the lens of psychology to broaden our understanding of social phenomena. In addition to her research and teaching, she has played a vital role organizing professional events that pull together experts across disciplines, countries, and perspectives to increase knowledge and visibility of these issues. She also has worked tirelessly to showcase psychology’s contributions to these areas.
Opotow’s service to APA includes membership on the Committee on International Relations in Psychology, membership on and chair of the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest, and membership on the Board for Educational Affairs. She served as president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and is a long-standing member of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence. She was an editor of Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. Furthermore, she served on the editorial boards of Social Justice Research, Journal of Social and Political Psychology, Quantitative Psychology, and Human Ecology Review.
Opotow has been the recipient of numerous awards including APA’s Division of Peace Psychology’s Morton Deutsch Conflict Resolution Award. As the award makes clear, Opotow has made “Outstanding contributions as a scholar, teacher, and mentor. Her research has inspired conflict resolution scholars and practitioners around the world.”