WASHINGTON, DC—Rodolfo “Rudy” Mendoza-Denton is professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, has been elected the 2020 president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). Mendoza-Denton will serve as SPSP’s president‐elect in 2019 and past president in 2021.
He has been involved in diversity efforts both nationally and locally, including serving on SPSP’s Diversity and Climate Committee and the American Psychological Association’s Presidential Task Force on Preventing Discrimination and Promoting Diversity. Last year, he received the Distinguished Service Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
“Rudy's background as a distinguished scholar, award-winning teacher, articulate advocate for accessibility and inclusion, and savvy administrator makes him perfectly qualified to lead SPSP into the next decade,” says current SPSP President, Diane Mackie.
He received his BA from Yale University and his PhD from Columbia University. Mendoza-Denton’s professional work covers stereotyping and prejudice from the perspective of both target and perceiver, intergroup relations, as well as how these processes influence educational outcomes. He received the UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence in 2015, and the University-wide Distinguished Teaching Award in 2018.
Wendy Berry Mendes, University of California San Francisco, was reelected Treasurer. Eli J. Finkel, Northwestern University, was elected Member at Large for Outreach/Advocacy and Collette Eccleston, Lieberman Research Worldwide, was elected Member at Large for Application. They will all serve three-year terms.
The Society for Personality and Social Psychology promotes scientific research that explores how people think, behave, feel, and interact. With more than 7,500 members, the Society is the largest organization of social and personality psychologists in the world.