Psychology Prof. Allen Omoto to receive Outstanding Achievement Award from American Psychological Association

Allen M. Omoto, a Claremont Graduate University professor of psychology and education who also serves as dean of the School of Educational Studies, will receive a prestigious award from the American Psychological Association (APA) next month in recognition of his substantial work in the area of sexual orientation and gender diversity.

The annual Outstanding Achievement award from the APA’s Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity honors psychologists for their scientific, clinical, professional, educational, leadership or political contributions to LGBTQ individuals and communities.

“I am honored and humbled to receive this award and to join the list of extremely impressive past awardees whose work I have admired and been inspired by,” Omoto said. “Throughout my career, I have devoted considerable time and energy pursuing social justice issues, including LGBT concerns, in my research and in different forms of community and professional engagement. These issues are personally important to me, and I also believe that they are core to the field of psychology and what it means to be a psychologist. I plan to continue pursuing work that I hope will live up to the goals this award seeks to honor.”

He will receive the honor during the 124th APA Annual Convention scheduled for August 4-7, 2016, in Denver, Colorado.

Omoto is a social psychologist whose research focuses on the social and psychological aspects of prosocial behavior, including civic and political engagement. He also conducts research on environmental issues, HIV, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender concerns.

“Professor Omoto has distinguished himself as a leading scholar and advocate for social justice,” said Stewart Donaldson, dean of the School of Social Science, Policy and Evaluation. “His prestigious APA Award is well deserved and honors a career of outstanding service and scholarship in the areas of sexual orientation and diversity.”

Omoto, who also serves as director of the Institute for Research on Social Issues, has been widely recognized for his research on pressing social issues as well as his commitment to social justice.

In 2015, Omoto received a presidential citation from the American Psychological Association, and was praised for being an inspiration to students and colleagues. The year before, the Western Psychological Association (WPA) gave him its prestigious Social Responsibility Award, an annual honor given to an individual in recognition of substantial and influential work that facilitates peace, freedom, social justice, and/or the protection of the planet’s natural environment.

Omoto formerly served as president of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues as well as the Society for the Psychological Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Issues, an APA division. He helped found and administer a community-based AIDS service organization and worked in the US Congress as the APA’s inaugural William A. Bailey AIDS Policy Congressional Fellow.

He has been a CGU faculty member since 2000. Omoto received his PhD in psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1989.