Dr. Suinn: Since my retirement, research activities have been through students I supervise, such as identifying variables which influence MSE (m a th /s cience/engineerin g ) c are e r d e cis io n s a m o n g b ilin g u a l Spanish-speaking students. A by-product of this study was the development of a Spanish version of my mathematics anxiety scale. Another quite interesting study had results suggesting that the effects of matching ethnic clients to counselors based on counselor ethnicity may be influenced by the nature of the presenting problem. Specifically matching on ethnicity might be more important for personal problems but less so for academic performance concerns. The findings of the MSE research can point the way to increasing the numbers of Hispanics considering educational or career paths in the mathematics/science/engineering directions. And, results from the matching study suggest a refinement in service delivery that could entail more efficient matching. OEMA:
What attracted you personally to the field of psychology and what motivated you to continue training?
Dr. Suinn: Probably the attraction was that it blended scientific thinking with people-issues, as well as being somewhat allied to medicine. Coming from an Asian-American background, I knew my parents were pulling for me towards a medical profession and psychology is readily identifiable as an allied health profession.
Collaborating with students has been the energizing force for me over the years. When added to the creativity and discovery process generated in research endeavors, being a faculty member is an unbeatable experience!
I would actually identify teaching as my real "field". I have enjoyed the student contact and have taught in the full range of educational settings: from a liberal arts undergraduate college to a medical school to a graduate research university. Collaborating with students has been the energizing force for me over the years. W hen added to the creativity and discovery process generated in research endeavors, being a faculty member is an unbeatable experience! OEMA:
What are the benefits of standing diversity committees?
Dr. Suinn: As with most standing committees, a diversity committee has the advantage of sending the message that its mission is considered valuable enough to assign resources and attention. The committee members can also focus their -VII-