Roger Peterson Distinguished Speaker Series
The Roger Peterson Distinguished Speaker Series invites prominent members of the psychology profession to Antioch University’s New England campus and brings together alumni, students, and faculty for a presentation and discussion. The program enhances the learning experience of current students while informing and inspiring alumni and faculty who are active in the field.
History of the Speaker Series
The series is named for Professor and Distinguished Senior Scholar Roger Peterson, former department chair, honoring his countless contributions to the field of psychology and the thousands of people whose lives he has touched throughout his long career. In 2015, as part of Antioch’s 50th-anniversary celebration, the Department hosted its first Distinguished Speaker Series event. Kenneth J. Gergen, PhD, presented Losing Our Minds and Saving the World. In 2016, Jeremy Safran, PhD, presented Mindfulness, Enactment, and Affect Regulation. Dr. Safran was the author of numerous books on psychotherapy, including Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance: A Relational Treatment Guide, with co-author Chris Muran. Contact Laura Andrews to support this fund. Antioch University Director of Institutional Advancement [email protected]
Fostering the Future of the Field
For over forty years, Roxy Wolfe and Roger Peterson have been close friends. Wolfe, a longtime psychologist, met Peterson in the Doctor of Psychology program at Antioch Univeristy’s New England campus in the early 1980s. She was a student, and he was a co-developer of the program and a professor in it. The two hit it off, and they have remained friends through the intervening decades. This was part of why Antioch tapped Wolfe to interview Peterson on the occasion of his retirement after a long and storied career at Antioch. In the interview below, Wolfe’s continued admiration of her former teacher is clear. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRkM_ABS9Xw This sentiment is part of why in 2010, Wolfe gave a generous gift to help establish the Roger Peterson Speaker Series, an ongoing program that, through lectures and conversations, explores the possibilities of what clinical psychology can do in the world. This gift is a testament to the lasting legacy of this mentor, who helped Wolfe believe in her own capacities as a clinician.
A Professor Who Made All the Difference
A little payback. That’s what Dr. Edouard A.J. Carignan, PsyD ’01, calls his multi-year pledge to the Roger Peterson Clinical Psychology Distinguished Lecture Series.
Carignan was well into his career as a psychologist and working at the New Hampshire State Prison in Concord when he stopped by Antioch University’s New England campus. Instead of the somewhat cold institution he had expected, he found a warm and vibrant community. “Wow! he said. This was something I wanted to get into.” And it was Roger Peterson, Antioch University professor and Distinguished Senior Scholar, who gave Ed the encouragement he needed at a crucial time in his academic career. That’s what convinced me to stay, he says.
After deciding to make a significant gift to support the lecture series, Carignan wrote to his classmates, encouraging them to make gifts to complete the funding necessary to kick it off. He wrote, “This will be a valuable professional and academic experience for all, and it will honor Dr. Peterson’s decades of service to Antioch University, his countless contributions to the field of psychology, and the effect he had on us and thousands of others whose lives he has touched through his long and distinguished career.”
Sharon Berry, PhD, ABPP- 2024
Sharon Berry, PhD, ABPP, earned her doctorate in clinical psychology from Florida State University. She was internship training director (Children’s MN) and supervisor (Children’s Memorial Hospital, Chicago), with numerous awards highlighting training efforts from the Council of Chairs of Training Councils, MN Psychological Association, APAGS, Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers, and Divisions 38 (Health) and 54 (Pediatric Psychology).
She served on the Presidential Workgroup on the APA Expanded Advocacy Model, APA Education Advocacy Coordinator, the inaugural Advocacy Coordinating Committee & Psychology PAC Advisory Board. Berry enjoyed two terms on the APPIC Board of Directors, serving on the Board of Educational Affairs and leadership in Divisions 54 and 12. She received the first Education Advocacy Distinguished Service Award in 2003 and the first Political Advocacy Champion Award in 2015, with an APA Presidential Citation in 2019. She helped improve accredited internship sustainability by increasing the states that allow billing by doctoral and postdoctoral trainees.
Dr. Berry presented a historical view of challenges for psychology education and training as well as current challenges, with examples of how past advocacy efforts have led to important programs such as the Graduate Psychology Education Program, campus suicide programs, and loan forgiveness. Involvement in advocacy was encouraged to contribute to the solutions.
Dr. Gilbert Newman- 2022
Dr. Gilbert Newman is the Vice President for Academic Affairs at the Wright Institute, Berkeley, CA, and President of the National Council of Schools and Programs of Professional Psychology, presented in 2022. In this presentation, he described concerns that are addressed in reaffirming a model of training for NCSPP programs in preparing health service psychologists. The training provided a critical review of our educational model – to reaffirm what still works, to acknowledge what we have not accomplished, and to address how our values and commitments may have evolved.
Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD- 2021
Thema Bryant-Davis, PhD is a professor of psychology at Pepperdine University and director of the Culture and Trauma Research Lab. She is the current president of the American Psychological Association, a past president of the Society for the Psychology of Women, and a past psychology representative to the United Nations. The California Psychological Association honored her as Scholar of the Year for her work in the cultural context of trauma recovery, and the Institute of Violence, Abuse, and Trauma honored her for mentorship in the field of trauma psychology. Her presentation in 2021 illuminated ways the field of psychology and student services can serve communities that live with the psychological effects of racism. Insights from liberation psychology, decolonial psychology, Black psychology, and womanist psychology were presented.
Kermit Crawford, PhD- 2019
In 2019, Kermit Crawford, PhD, presented The Looking Glass Revisited: Making and Mediating Microaggressions. This presentation consisted of a deep dive into the dynamics of microaggressions and describe how they can alternatively be viewed as proxies for even deeper questions that should be asked and answered. The takeaway was an overview of the proxy nature of microaggressions for a more in-depth individual examination and institutional orientation toward change related to the multileveled impacts of structural racism.
Jeremy Safran, PhD- 2016
In 2016, Jeremy Safran, PhD, presented Mindfulness, Enactment, and Affect Regulation. Dr. Safran was the author of numerous books and articles on psychotherapy, including Negotiating the Therapeutic Alliance: A Relational Treatment Guide, with co-author Chris Muran. He was a Professor of Psychology at the New School for Social Research in New York City for years, where he was also in the position of Director of Clinical Psychology for several years. He and Dr. Muran truly integrated clinical practice, training, and research in their work.
Kenneth J. Gergen, PhD- 2015
Kenneth J. Gergen is a Senior Research Professor at Swarthmore College and President of the Taos Institute. He has authored many of the most influential works on social constructionism along with a series of updated books on An Invitation to Social Constructionism.