My teaching, research, professional, and service activities generally reflect my commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. I have graduated a significant number of students of color during my academic career and have mentored many faculty and students of color.
Rosemary E. Phelps, PhD is a professor of Counseling Psychology in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services at The University of Georgia. She is the Director of Training of the award-winning APA-accredited Counseling Psychology PhD program and Coordinator of the Human Services minor in the Department. She served as Department Head from 2006-2012 and was the first African American to hold this position in the Department. Dr. Phelps received her bachelor’s degree in Psychology and master’s degree in Guidance and Counseling from The Ohio State University, and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She was a staff psychologist at the University of Notre Dame Counseling Center (Notre Dame, IN) and then joined the faculty at The University of Georgia. Dr. Phelps’s 30+ year career has involved teaching, research, practice, and professional service related to diversity and social justice issues, ethnic and racial identity development, and professional and career issues for students and faculty of color. Currently, her research focuses on the unique and varied experiences of African Americans in both personal and professional spaces that affect psychological well-being. Dr. Phelps’s academic, educational, professional, and leadership activities show a strong commitment to working with diverse students. She She served as director of the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) in Psychology grant-funded initiative in the Department of Counseling and Human Development Services, a program to work with diverse students considering faculty positions in institutions of higher education. Professional activities have included national and regional membership and leadership positions including member of the American Psychological Association (APA) Education and Training Awards Committee, chair of the Ethnic and Cultural Diversity Committee, 2014 Program Co-Chair of APA Division 17, and chair of the Minority Interest Group and the Committee on Equality and Professional Opportunity (CEPO)/PSI CHI Undergraduate Research Program of the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA). Dr. Phelps has served as the Diversity Domain Representative and the Public Interest and Social Justice Domain Representative for the Society for the Advancement of Psychotherapy (Division 29) of APA. She also developed the Division’s Advocacy and Mentoring Program for Diversity (AMPD), which has been successful in providing leadership, mentoring, and professional development opportunities for students of color. Dr. Phelps is the recipient of the 2010 APA’s Distinguished Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology Award and is an APA Fellow (Society of Counseling Psychology). She received a 2016 Career Achievement Award from the College of Education and Human Ecology at The Ohio State University. She served as President of the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) in 2018. Dr. Phelps’s incorporation of advocacy as a core professional skill and the application of her work to other professions have opened up new avenues for understanding multicultural training factors and graduate scholarship.
