In welcoming the audience, UD President Dennis Assanis noted Jones
deep appreciation of art and culture, his interest in always learning
new things and his eagerness to explore the world through other people.
He said Jones, with the curiosity of a lifelong student, has
examined some of societys most important challenges about the
psychology of race.
James used the tools of science to illuminate the underlying
complexity of how we see and think about the world and each other,
Assanis said. And through his work, he showed us that we can build a
better world for everyone.
Jones was formally introduced to the audience by longtime colleague
Sam Gaertner, also Trustees Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
Psychological and Brain Sciences, who retired in 2016. The two social
psychologists shared a research focus on prejudice, discrimination and
racism.
Calling Jones a renowned scholar, Gaertner cited Jones 1972 book, Prejudice and Racism,
which he said is a classic in the field, and his recent research that
focuses on developing a model to examine how a person develops
diversity competence.
After the lecture, George Watson, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, which hosted the event, thanked Jones for sharing his personal stories and professional commentary on diversity.
Gaertner had previously noted that Jones held nine lifetime
achievement awards from a variety of organizations, and now, Watson
said, he wanted to bring that number to a nice, round 10.
He presented Jones the College of Arts and Sciences Lifetime
Achievement Award for his career of scholarship, teaching, mentoring and
service to the field of psychology and the professional development of
others.
Today, we celebrate the culmination of your career and profound impact on the profession, community and society, Watson said.
More about James Jones career
Jones earned his doctorate at Yale University and has taught at Harvard and Howard universities.
He published the first edition of Prejudice and Racism in 1972 and the second edition in 1997. His most recent book, The Psychology of Diversity: Beyond Prejudice and Racism, with Jack Dovidio and Deborah Vietze, was published in 2014.
His numerous awards include the 1999 Lifetime Achievement Award of
the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnicity, Culture and Race;
the 2001 Kurt Lewin Award and the 2009 Distinguished Service Award by
the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues; the 2007
Distinguished Psychologist Award by the Association of Black
Psychologists; the 2011 Lifetime Contribution to Psychology award from
the American Psychological Association; the 2018 Gold Medal Award for
Life Achievement in Psychology in the Public Interest; and, most
recently, the 2018 Morton Deutsch Award for Distinguished
Contributions to Social Justice from the International Center for
Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia Teachers College.
Article by Ann Manser; photos by Wenbo Fan