The American Psychological Association is honored to recognize Derald Wing Sue, PhD's outstanding contributions to psychology as a scientist, teacher, mentor, author, consultant, thought leader, and social justice advocate. Sue is a global leader in psychology and social justice, as is evidenced by his more than 150 publications and editorships, multiple leadership and service endeavors, and commitment to fostering the next generation of socially just psychologists.
Sue's numerous writings have influenced several generations of psychologists to incorporate cutting edge phenomena, such as cultural competencies and microaggression theory, into their daily practice, teaching, research, and public advocacy work. Through his courageousness in challenging predominant monocultural and ethnocentric psychological paradigms, Sue has made the invisible visible by revealing social injustices that marginalize and prevent people from reaching their optimal levels of human development. "Counseling the Culturally Diverse", Sue's co-authored text now in its eighth edition, is considered a seminal resource in the education of psychologists and is one of the most resourced texts in multicultural counseling and psychology training programs. Sue's work has expanded our conceptualizations of psychological and cultural concepts. In particular, his scholarship was foundational in creating and implementing APA’s Multicultural Guidelines that continue to influence psychologists in their roles as educators, researchers, practitioners, and agents of organizational change.
Sue's legacy of social justice advocacy has been further crystallized through co-founding the Asian American Psychological Association and the National Multicultural Conference and Summit. Through his leadership, essential spaces were created for psychologists to advance Asian American and multicultural psychology. As president of both the Society of Counseling Psychology (APA’s Div. 17) and Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity and Race (APA’s Div. 45), Sue inspired scholarship on ethnic identity and discrimination, promoting culturally aware interventions and policy change. Within APA, Sue served on numerous committees and have been a trusted advisor to APA presidents. Through these leadership activities, Sue has ensured that the ideals and tenets of cultural competency and social justice remain integral to the field of psychology.
Sue's work is truly prolific. Because of his expertise in race-relations, Sue was appointed to President William J. Clinton’s Race Advisory Board and significantly shaped the discourse on race in the United States. Sue's influence as the foremost scholar in multicultural psychology was further evidenced by your appointment to the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization’s Teaching Respect for All Project, a global effort to foster racial, ethnic, and multicultural understanding among children.
Sue's commitment to social justice includes a vision in which resources are distributed equitably and all members of society are physically and psychologically safe and secure. It is evident that his lifelong work has focused on this goal by educating and mentoring academicians, practitioners, students, and society about the importance of creating a socially just society. For Sue's exceptional career as a scientist, teacher, mentor, author, consultant, thought leader, and social justice advocate, the American Psychological Association is privileged to present Sue with this Award for Outstanding Lifetime Contributions to Psychology.