CEO of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Arthur Evans Jr., speaks to students and faculty at the Natural Sciences Building. Photo by Murat Demir.
Dr. Arthur C. Evans Jr., CEO of the American Psychological Association — or the APA — spoke to an audience of approximately 20 students and faculty at the Natural Sciences Building on Sept. 5.
During the conference, The Northern Light asked Evans about his experience visiting UAA.
“I think it's been great — people have been very open and friendly and interesting,” said Evans.
Evans decided against giving a formal talk and focused on answering audience questions during the conference. Students and faculty asked questions about psychology, achievement, and a variety of other topics.
In response to an audience member’s question about whether the APA will continue its focus on the topic of decolonization, which the audience member noted is a particularly relevant topic in Alaska, Evans said, “The APA is doing a lot of things to get at what you're talking about.”
Evans mentioned a formal apology by the APA regarding systemic racism as an example of a recent initiative.
“We actually went to the Cummings Psychology Center and took a look back at history and looked at what role psychology and the APA played in perpetuating, promoting and not speaking out against racism and bigotry within our society,” said Evans.
According to Evans, the APA specified what exactly it was apologizing for, and made a commitment to take action to address those issues in the future.
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