Recent Announcements
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2023 Outstanding Contributions in Promoting Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in Psychology award! This special award recognizes the exemplary contributions of members of our department who have shown substantial and meaningful contributions to equity, diversity and inclusion in the area of service, teaching/mentoring, or research.
Solange Roussetzki, BA '23
Ms. Roussetzki is a graduating senior who has spent the last two years as a member of the Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Intimate Relationships conducting research on the importance of language in psychological functioning. Her research accomplishments include assisting with a translation project to develop a cross-culturally equivalent measure of intimate partner violence, completing an Honors Thesis examining how one’s ability to verbalize and describe emotional states influences psychopathology and problematic behaviors, and a project, funded by an Undergraduate Research Award, to extend this research to include Latine men to better understand the effects of cultural norms on sexual aggression. In addition, she is an active and long-time member of Corazoncitos, a campus group that promotes awareness of important issues for Latin Americans. Post-graduation Ms. Roussetzki will be a research coordinator working with Spanish-speaking communities in New York City. Her career goal is to become a clinical psychologist who investigates how language and culture affects mental health and individual well-being. We applaud and congratulate Ms. Roussetzki for serving as an excellent model for meaningfully contributing to the advancement of science and quality of life for Spanish-speaking communities and we look forward to her future successes!
Dr. Eileen Barden, '23
Dr. Barden is currently completing a competitive T32-funded postdoctoral position focused on trauma at the Boston Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Barden has dedicated herself to serving underserved populations in her research, clinical practice, and community outreach. Dr. Barden has been an active member of the Psychology EDI committee since its conception. She has been an advocate for the Asian/Asian American community as well as low-income communities. Dr. Barden’s research has included the examination of cultural barriers to mental health help seeking for Asian and Asian-American students. She has a longstanding partnership with the My Life Foundation committed to raising awareness of mental health services and substance use concerns within the Asian community near Baltimore. Dr. Barden has also served as an influential mentor for diverse and underrepresented students throughout her time at Binghamton University. Her commitment to the enhancement of EDI is unwavering and we are excited to see where this important work continues to take her!
Dr. DiLorenzo, Professor of Psychology
It is difficult to fully convey all the incredible contributions Dr. Di Lorenzo has made to the advancement of EDI in the psychology department and the STEM field in general. Dr. Di Lorenzo was a founding member and contributor to the Bridges Baccalaureate Program for the past 25 years. For those unfamiliar with this program, the Bridges Program aims to recruit community college students from underrepresented backgrounds to Binghamton University for an eight-week, paid summer research experience to help transition students from a 2-year community college to a 4-year institution. The primary goal of the program is to enhance representation of underrepresented scholars in biomedical research. Dr. Di Lorenzo has been pivotal in securing funding from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences for the Bridges Program and served as the co-director of the program for 10 years. She has taught and mentored hundreds of underrepresented students, many of which transferred to BU through the Bridges Program, with a vast majority (>90%) of these students graduating from a four-year institution. Finally, Dr. Di Lorenzo has been intentional in her discussion of race, gender, poverty, and culture in the classroom. Dr. Di Lorenzo is an underrepresented scholar herself and serves as a role model for so many!
