Diana Sanchez to Serve as 2025 SPSP President

Diana Sanchez, Chair of the Psychology Department and Professor at Rutgers University, has been elected the 2025 president of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP). She will serve as president-elect in 2024 and past president in 2026.

Dr. Sanchez is a diversity scientist whose research focuses on stigma, identity, intergroup bias, and close relationships. Broadly speaking, she examines how being the target of stereotypes affects the physical, psychological, and relational health of women, racial/ethnic minorities, and other minoritized groups. She has long been a pivotal member of SPSP's community, serving on the Diversity and Climate Committee (DCC) where she helped to conduct the Society's first Climate Survey. As a DCC member, she also assisted with the restructuring of the Social-Personality Undergraduate Research (SPUR) program, which expands opportunities for research experience for students from historically underrepresented racial backgrounds.

At Rutgers University, Dr. Sanchez has helped to create a new postdoctoral program for students from historically underrepresented backgrounds, new platforms that provide resources for minority students, and a new department infrastructure that ensures advocates of diversity have a voice among the department's leadership. Dr. Sanchez is also developing a strategic diversity plan for the Rutgers-New Brunswick School of Arts and Sciences.

"I am honored to serve as your president. I will do my best to ensure that SPSP is meeting the needs of its members including our collective goals to increase the societal impact of our science," says Dr. Sanchez. "I look forward to working together with the SPSP community to improve our society and prepare us for the challenges that lie ahead." 

As president, Dr. Sanchez would like to strengthen SPSP's outreach and advocacy efforts so that research findings can be translated into practical solutions that address social inequality within and beyond SPSP. She would also like to diversify representation at all levels of the organization, expand mentoring programs and professional development opportunities, and create new revenue streams to support these initiatives.

"Dr. Sanchez has demonstrated her commitment to diversity and inclusivity as an SPSP member and leader time and time again," says SPSP Executive Director Rachel Puffer. "We are delighted to welcome her as SPSP's president-elect and look forward to implementing our strategic plan with her guidance."

Dr. Sanchez completed her PhD in social psychology and women's studies in 2005 at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor). She has been honored with the Society of Experimental Social Psychology Diversity Science Mid-Career Award, the Distinguished Service to SPSP award, the Michele Alexander Early Career Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues and the Faculty Leader in Diversity Award from Rutgers University.

For more details on SPSP's 2023 election results, refer to this announcement on the SPSP website.