Two Chosen as 2024’s Clinical Psychology Program DEI Award Recipients

The Clinical Psychology DEI Committee has chosen its 2024 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award recipients: Nathan Smith, Clinical Psychology Ph.D. student, and Lauren Mizock, Ph.D., Clinical Psychology core faculty.

Nathan Smith

This award recognizes the contributions students and faculty make to advance DEI work. We asked this year’s recipients about their DEI work and what this award means to them.

What does receiving this award mean to you?

Nathan Smith: I feel seen and heard. Receiving the Clinical Psychology program’s DEI student award means the world to me and affirms my passion for working with racial and ethnic minority groups. There are few Black male clinical psychology doctoral students and clinical psychologists, so representation matters. I have been committed to ensuring DEI remains at the forefront of my clinical training, research, and involvement in the Fielding community since 2020. One of my proudest contributions to DEI at Fielding is working with phenomenal colleagues in the Black Student Association since 2020. We have consistently offered a safe space for Black students and faculty. BSA has offered Fielding-wide programming, including a Diversity speaker series and events recognizing Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Black History Month, Women’s History Month, and Pride Month. I have also proudly served as a mentor in different capacities (e.g., professional development seminar representative, NSO teaching assistant, and research assistant). Recently, I led research on graduate students’ experiences with social justice issues, which has been accepted to several professional conferences this year.

Lauren Mizock, Ph.D.: I feel a sense of great honor and meaning to be acknowledged by colleagues and students for working on DEI matters in our program. I experience racial privilege and other unearned advantages as a white woman in this world. I hope to use my privilege for power to help center DEI work in clinical psychology and contribute to positive change, though with caution around centering myself.

Lauren Mizock, Ph.D.

Why do you think DEI work is vital at Fielding and beyond?

Nathan Smith: DEI work is vital at a unique racially, ethnically, and economically diverse program like Fielding Graduate University. I am glad Fielding recognizes DEI’s importance through the work of Dr. Davis-White Eyes and the DEI office. Integrating DEI variables into Clinical Psychology doctoral students’ studies is essential to shaping future culturally sensitive clinical psychologists. Beyond Fielding, there is no room for slowing down and ignoring the importance of sustainable DEI initiatives in clinical practice and research, specifically, providing adequate funding for DEI programs across the US and Canada.

Lauren Mizock, Ph.D.: Social justice is a mission of the university and something that draws students and faculty to Fielding. Multicultural psychology has also come to be a “fourth force” in clinical psychology, adding to psychodynamic, humanistic, and behavioral approaches. Beyond clinical practice, a culture-centered perspective is inseparable from education and research today and our other pursuits at Fielding. DEI is where our field is going, as well as most others.

To learn more about the DEI work at Fielding, visit: https://www.fielding.edu/diversity-equity-and-inclusion-dei