NICOLE T. BUCHANAN SERVICE STATEMENT (November 2008) Full-text PDF of this document is available here.       As a land grant institution, faculty members at Michigan State University have a strong directive to use our scholarship to improve the lives of students and the larger community. I take this mandate seriously and strive to integrate my research, teaching, and service in such a manner that they continuously inform one another. Moreover, many of the service activities in which I participate focus on populations that do not have sufficient access to the benefits of the body of research produced here at MSU. In serving these populations I believe I enhance the image of MSU and the Department of Psychology. I also believe that these efforts can eventually improve the willingness of individuals from these populations to encourage others to attend MSU and to participate in research by our faculty and students--enhancing the synergistic relationship between service, teaching, and research. These activities involve large portions of time and require understanding of these communities and their concerns. My ability to successfully reach out and connect with these populations requires countless hours of my time whether I am officially serving as a representative of MSU, or unofficially demonstrating my support and genuine concern as a member of these communities. I also benefit from these relationships personally and professionally. Whereas many researchers struggle to access communities of color, particularly for research purposes, the trust I have built both campus- and community-wide, has made it possible for me to collect data from thousands of men and women of color. Such efforts are time-intensive and often require years of a continued presence within the community. In recognition of my continued dedication, I was awarded Michigan State University’s 2007 Excellence in Diversity Award in the category of “Individual Emerging Progress’ for outstanding research, teaching, and service accomplishments in the areas of diversity, pluralism, and social justice.”  This honor is but one indication that my service to the field, campus, and community are having a positive impact.       Community. My research is a natural venue for service and outreach. My service efforts related to bullying and harassment among children and adolescents has permeated the entire state of Michigan. For example, I worked with the Michigan Department of State Police to design an anti-bullying program that police officers now present to students in K-12 classrooms across the state. To expand the number of people who can benefit from this program, our workgroup hosted a day-long training for state police officers and the response was unprecedented. Although we anticipated thirty participants, after two days over 60 officers had registered, and we had to close the registration after 130 officers had enrolled within a week. There are numerous requests for this anti-bullying program and we will likely host another training during the upcoming summer. Meanwhile, the training manual is available, free of charge, to state police officers, school liaisons, and school personnel state-wide. The feedback on the anti-bullying program has been uniformly positive from all of those involved – officers, teachers, and students. One officer presented the workshop to third-graders and wrote to tell us of the reception he received, “They loved it. The teachers were very involved and told me it was perfect conjunction with their aggression and violence rubric the school uses.”  Recently, I received a request from Michigan’s Office of Drug Control Policy, asking that I participate in their 2008 Violence Forum. I designed a training session on the intersections of gender, bullying/harassment, and violence in K-12 schools. I provided an overview of the types of violence perpetrated by and against adolescent girls and presented several strategies that schools can implement to protect girls (and by default, boys) from violence. Over 100 school counselors, principals, teachers, and police officers attended my session and many thanked me afterwards for the useful and timely information I provided. In addition, I have conducted workshops on bullying, aggression, and conflict resolution for the Girl Scouts and Jack & Jill of America [a family-oriented mentoring organization for African-American children]; each was well-received and valued by the adults and the students present. On multiple occasions I have given presentations to middle and high school students on pursuing higher education and becoming a psychologist and professor. One presentation on self-esteem and educational attainment for Black young women attending Eastern High School was televised and broadcast across the tri-county area. Although these projects and presentations require considerable time and effort, I willingly respond to these requests because I know they benefit members of the many communities within which I am a member.       Profession. I am active in several professional organizations and I participate in many service activities within my discipline. Recently, I was appointed a Consulting Editor for the Psychology of Women Quarterly and I have served, and continue to serve, as an ad hoc reviewer for another eight journals. Since 2005, I have reviewed approximately 35 new manuscripts as well as more than 70 reviews of revised manuscripts. I have also served as a reviewer for the national conventions of the Association of Women in Psychology (AWP) and the International Coalition Against Sexual Harassment, AWP’s research awards, and I served as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, PSC-CUNY Research Award Program, and MSU’s Intramural Research Grant Program. For each of these reviews, I was specifically sought for my expertise in sexual and racial harassment, bullying, and issues related to the health and well-being of women of color. Finally, I am the Liaison between APA’s Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35) and the Association for Women in Psychology.       Department and campus. I have participated in a number of activities in service to the Department of Psychology and the MSU community. A large portion of this time has been dedicated to programs aimed at improving academic outcomes among ethnic minority students. For example, I have participated in more than twenty programs with the Office of Cultural and Academic Transitions (OCAT) and the office of student affairs during the academic year and during summer sessions. Each of these programs focused on fostering the interpersonal and academic success of ethnic minority students at MSU (e.g., Maximizing Academic Growth in College (MAGIC) Program, SUPER Summer Program, Black Male Initiative, Dine with a Scholar, and the McNair/SROP Scholars Program). Notably, they have asked me to give presentations on the official and unofficial rules for academic success on more than ten occasions since my arrival at MSU. These repeated requests indicate that participants and coordinators find the information I provide to be particularly helpful for the population of students they serve.       My service presentations have also focused on increasing the future matriculation of ethnic minority students into the field of psychology. Namely, in OCAT’s Dine with a Scholar program I spent three hours sharing my experiences and perspective on the field of psychology with several students of color, I answered questions about getting involved in research as an undergraduate and being successful in graduate school, and discussed what my day to day work is as a professor and/or psychologist. Similarly, I have been a guest speaker for many graduate and undergraduate courses across disciplines, such as Family and Child Ecology and the African American and African Studies programs. Uniformly, the feedback has been positive and students believe that I provide a unique opportunity for students to learn from female faculty member of color—increasing their willingness to consider joining the faculty ranks in the future.       Within the psychology department, I look for ways to be a good citizen of the department and to serve in ways that draw upon my strengths and unique contributions. Currently, I chair three committees (the Diversity Committee, Colloquium Committee and the New Student Orientation Committee) and serve as a member of the Clinical Admissions Committee and the Center for Multicultural Psychology Research’s Student Research Award Committee. The diversity focus of my service contributes to my teaching and mentoring, and assists me in providing graduate students and faculty with additional exposure to diversity concerns in the field of psychology. For example, as the chair of the clinical program’s Diversity Committee, I changed the committee’s structure so that is now programmatic and integrated with the zeitgeist of the field. It now focuses on a single topic over the course of the year and examines how that topic area intersects with other aspects of diversity. Our current programming centers around social class, which is also the new emphasis area within the American Psychological Association (APA). We have examined the ways in which race and social class are confounded, adaptations of clinical interventions for poor clients, how social class contributes to health disparities, and the mental health implications of poverty on children and adolescents. These efforts contribute to our program’s training model and expand students’ ability to conceptualize and contribute to research, teaching, and clinical practice related to diversity. As a result of this innovative model, the programmatic focus on diversity that I initiated as the committee chair was highlighted in the APA accreditation report of MSU’s clinical program.       Last, I regularly attend a variety of events as a representative of MSU faculty and the Department of Psychology, including: Social Science graduation ceremony, New Minority Faculty and Staff reception, Black Celebratory (Graduation), and welcome receptions for new ethnic minority students (separately hosted by each group; e.g., American Indian, Asian, Black, Latino). For most of these events, I am either the only representative from psychology or the only faculty member of color; thus, my presence makes a positive statement about the psychology department’s commitment to students of color and diversity more generally.