An expert on the theory of aversive racism, John F. Dovidio, the Carl Iver Hovland Professor of Psychology and the director of the Intergroup Relations Lab at Yale University, will present the IBM Endowed Lecture in the Sciences at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, in Room 105 of the Joseph C. Shouvlin Center for Lifelong Learning as the final event of the 2018-2019 Wittenberg Series. His address is titled “Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? The Challenges of Race Relations in America.”

Dovidio’s work focuses on issues of social power and social relations, both between groups and between individuals, including aversive racism, which he describes as “a contemporary subtle form of prejudice.” He also researches how bias in the health care industry affects members of traditionally disadvantaged groups. His lab at Yale is dedicated to the study of intergroup relations and diversity with experimental research at its center.

A prolific writer and researcher, Dovidio is the author of more than 350 scholarly articles, chapters, and books, including The Psychology of Diversity: Beyond Prejudice and Racism (Wiley-Blackwell, 2013) and The Oxford Handbook of Stigma, Discrimination, and Health (Oxford University Press, 2017).

Recognized for his outstanding contributions to the field of psychology, Dovidio has received the Kurt Lewin Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) and the Donald Campbell Award from the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). An award-winning professor and mentor, he was named Phi Eta Sigma Professor of the Year at Colgate University and earned the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Raymond A. Fowler Mentor Award.

Dovidio consults with a variety of government agencies, private companies, and educational institutions on issues of racism. He has served as president of SPSSI, SPSP, and the Society for Experimental Social Psychology, as well as editor of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology – Interpersonal Relations and Group Processes and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

Prior to his current faculty position at Yale, he taught at the University of Connecticut and Colgate University, where he also served as provost. He holds an A.B. in psychology from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in psychology from the University of Delaware, and a doctorate in psychology from the University of Delaware.

While on Wittenberg's campus, Dovidio will participate in an admission-free colloquium titled “Included But Invisible? The Intergroup Consequences of Colorblindness for Immigrant and Racial Minority Groups” at 4 p.m.in Room 105 of Shouvlin Center.

Now in its 36th year, the Wittenberg Series brings distinguished lecturers and performing artists of national and international prominence to the Wittenberg campus and Springfield community. To make special arrangements, request a Series poster, or become a friend of the Wittenberg Series, contact Lisa Watson at WatsonL4@wittenberg.edu. All Wittenberg Series events are free and open to the public. Doors open 30 minutes prior to the beginning of each lecture or performance.

For more information on the Wittenberg Series, click here.