Expert on Stereotyping, Academic Success Named UAB Ireland Visiting Scholar

Stanford University psychologist Claude M. Steele, Ph.D., renowned for his pioneering work on the effect of negative stereotyping on the academic achievement of minorities and women, will receive the 2003 Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar Prize. The prize is awarded annually by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

February 24, 2003

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Stanford University psychologist Claude M. Steele, Ph.D., renowned for his pioneering work on the effect of negative stereotyping on the academic achievement of minorities and women, will receive the 2003 Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar Prize. The prize is awarded annually by the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

Steele will deliver his address “How Stereotypes Can Shape Our Lives and How We Can Resist Them” at 6 p.m. Wednesday, March 19, at the Alys Stephens Center’s Jemison Concert Hall, 1200 10th Avenue South. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Steele, a social psychologist, studies the processes of self-evaluation and the theory that a “self-image threat” — the threat of being negatively stereotyped or the fear of performing poorly and confirming a stereotype — can adversely affect academic performance. His other research interests include the role of alcohol and drug use in self-regulation processes and social behavior.

Steele holds an endowed chair as the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences at Stanford University. He is past-chairman of Stanford’s psychology department.

Prior to joining Stanford, he was a research scientist with the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. He also taught at the University of Washington and the University of Utah. Steele recently received both the 2003 Senior Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest and the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award from the American Psychological Association.

Steele earned his bachelor’s degree from Hiram College and his master’s degree and doctorate from Ohio State University. He received an honorary doctorate from Yale University in 2002.

As the UAB Ireland Distinguished Visiting Scholar, Steele will visit the UAB campus March 17-20. The Ireland Award brings internationally renowned scholars in the arts and sciences to UAB to present a public lecture, attend a dinner in their honor and participate in campus activities. The prize is made possible through an endowment established by Caroline F. and Charles W. Ireland.