About Us

Our History

Taking Action Against Racism in Higher Education first began as a Work Group for the 2008 International Counseling Psychology Conference in Chicago. The Work Group consisted of counseling psychology practitioners and academics and graduate students with the goal of raising awareness among counseling psychologists in higher education institutions about the prevalence and consequences of hate crimes and bias incidents on college and university campuses.

Variations in the types of hates crimes and bias incidents were reviewed along with psychological research on the impact on victims and witnesses. The Work Group also discussed best practices intervention strategies on both individual and institutional levels. Action plans were developed for the dissemination of the work group products to higher education institutions, national and regional associations, and broadly within the APA.

As part of her presidential initiative, Dr. Helms formed three special task groups (STG) within Division 17 on racial bias, harassment, and hate crimes in the media, K-12 schools, and higher education. The goal of the Higher Education STG has been to gather information on best practices in responding to racism and hate crimes on campus and build connections among psychologists in higher education, whether they are in academic departments or college counseling centers. We believe that counseling psychologists are uniquely suited and situated to address these issues and take a leadership role on their campus.