Disbanding the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training contradicts APA’s values.

Like other organizations, APA has sacrificed diversity interests under the guise of re-evaluating priorities.

This move has followed others that aimed to quietly disband diversity, equity, and inclusion at the APA.

Written by Germine Awad, Ph.D. and Kevin Cokley, Ph.D.

This week, the American Psychological Association (APA) informed members of the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology (CEMRRAT) that it has been disbanded. This recent action calls into question APA’s commitment to increasing the recruitment, retention, and training of psychologists of color.

The Significance of CEMRRAT

CEMRRAT was established in 1994 after the APA designated ethnic minority education as a priority, with the goal of improving the recruitment and retention of ethnic minorities and addressing systemic barriers to their participation in psychology. CEMRRAT has been important because it devoted resources toward the advancement of ethnic minority issues. For example, historically, CEMRRAT has awarded implementation grants and seed funding to organizations, institutions, and individuals to support projects related to (a) recruitment and retention, (b) multicultural training, (c) mentorship and development, (d) innovation projects, and (e) data and research.

CEMRRAT was also known for producing several popular documents designed to support, recruit, and retain faculty of color. These documents included “Surviving and Thriving in Academia: A Guide for Women and Ethnic Minorities” and “How to Recruit and Hire Ethnic Minority Faculty.” The creation of CEMRRAT was particularly important........

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