WMU counseling professor to edit prestigious professional journal

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—Dr.  Beverly J. Vandiver, professor of counselor education and counseling psychology at Western Michigan University, has been appointed the incoming editor-in-chief of the Journal of Black Psychology, a premier journal focused on the psychological issues of black peoples across various disciplines.

Association of Black Psychology

Published six times a year by the Association of Black Psychology—ABPsi—the journal was started in 1974 and focuses on such subjects as African-centered psychology, therapeutic interventions, psychology of black children, personality, education, and health and social behavior. ABPsi is the oldest ethnic psychology association in the United States and has a mission of addressing the significant social problems facing and affecting the black community. Vandiver will begin her tenure as journal editor sometime later in 2016. 

Beverly J. Vandiver

A lifetime member of ABPsi, Vandiver has also been an active member of the American Psychological Association. She is nationally known for her research on racial identity, notably the development of the Cross Racial Identity Scale—CRIS—a psychometrically strong scale to measure black racial identity.

Vandiver earned her doctorate in counseling psychology from Ball State University. She is a member of the Society of Counseling Psychology, the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues, and Evaluation, Measurement and Statistics. She is fellow in divisions 5 and 17 of the American Psychological Association for her contribution to the empirical literature on racial identity and scale development. 

Vandiver has served on numerous editorial boards, including those of The Counseling Psychologist, Journal of Counseling and Development, and Career Development Quarterly. She has also worked as practicing counselor in community mental health centers and in a talented school system for secondary level students. Beyond scale development, her specialty is in cultural identity.