Dr. Steven J. Spencer, a 1988 Hope College graduate now on the psychology faculty at The Ohio State University, will present “Experiencing Bigotry: How Overt Acts of Discrimination Can Undermine Intergroup Relations” on Tuesday, March 28, at 4:30 p.m. at Hope in Winants Auditorium of Graves Hall as the inaugural address in the college’s John Shaughnessy Psychology Lecture Series.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Spencer conducts research on motivation and the self, particularly on how these factors affect stereotyping and prejudice. He also examines how being a member of a stereotyped group affects people’s self-concept and academic performance.
He became the Robert K. and Dale J. Weary Chair in Social Psychology at The Ohio State University in 2016. Prior to joining The Ohio State University faculty, he had taught at the University of Waterloo in Canada for 19 years. He has also taught at SUNY Buffalo for two years and at Hope for two years.
Spencer has served as the president of the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, as an associate editor at the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, and as a council member of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. He is also the co-author with Dr. David Myers of the Hope psychology faculty and Dr. Christian Jordan of “Social Psychology,” the leading Canadian textbook on social psychology.
Spencer majored in psychology and biology at Hope, where he also minored in religion and philosophy. He was awarded the Ph.D. at the University of Michigan.
The lecture series is named in memory of Dr. Shaughnessy, a professor emeritus of psychology who died on Dec. 16, 2015. He had taught at Hope for 40 years, from 1975 until retiring at the end of the 2014-15 school year, and was highly regarded for both his teaching and his commitment to engaging students in collaborative research. More than 2,500 students enrolled in his signature Research Methods course across his career. Among other honors, he received the Hope Outstanding Professor Educator (H.O.P.E.) Award from the graduating class in 1992 and the college’s “Janet L. Andersen Excellence in Teaching Award” in 2008. The annual lecture series, funded through an endowment, will feature psychology alumni who in addition to giving a presentation will interact with students, demonstrating ways in which their Hope psychology education informs and shapes their work.
Graves Hall is located at 263 College Ave., between 10th and 12th streets.