SMART Lab Mission Statement The SMART Lab at Oklahoma State University knows that BLACK LIVES MATTER. We are committed to identifying and addressing racial injustice that is inherent in pediatric psychology research and in the field as a whole.
The deficit of Black and Brown psychologists as leaders of research and clinical work in pediatric psychology is a detriment to public health. We recognize systemic barriers that contribute to the lack of representation in both clinical work and research. Therefore, we are committed to recruiting and retaining undergraduate and graduate students of color.
SMART Lab Action Items To put our commitment to equity and inclusion within psychology to action, a strategic plan has been developed to address systemic barriers.
The SMART Lab will proactively seek to recruit and admit diverse students to the lab.
The SMART lab will reduce reliance on standardized measures of success which have been shown to be both discriminatory and of limited value in identifying ability and predicting success. As such, we will consider other meaningful factors when reviewing applicants for our lab.
Graduate students will meet with intro level psychology courses each semester to ensure research opportunities are disseminated to all interested undergraduate students.
The graduate students will seek to collaborate with the Black Student Union and the Center for Black Culture and Research to disseminate research and mentorship opportunities to diverse undergraduate students.
We will recruit undergraduate research assistants through the university's Federal Work Study program.
In an effort to increase racial representation within the field, the SMART Lab will proactively recruit graduate students from identified universities across the United States. Lab members will identify Psychology programs at a variety of undergraduate universities and send recruitment information and contact information.
The SMART lab will provide curricular opportunities, through research projects, that will expose all lab members to the role of inequity as it relates to pediatric psychology. We will promote education and dialogue about racism, its causes and effects, through a variety of channels.
Articles, research, and reviews discussed during lab meetings will include the historical development and implementation of principles, policies and practices that embedded inequities of care into the U.S. healthcare system, including pediatric psychology.
The existing “orientation” document presented to all new undergraduate and graduate lab members will be modified to ensure coverage of racial issues within the field of psychology. Additionally, readings included will be authored by diverse researchers and clinicians to ensure well-rounded coverage of topic areas.
All undergraduate course requirements within the lab, including semester presentations, capstone projects, and honors theses, will be modified to include a diversity component. Specifically, we will encourage our undergraduate students to consider and interpret their presentation material or project results in the context of diversity and inclusivity to further open lines of discussion around these topics.
The SMART Lab will collaborate with and support the Department of Psychology's diversity groups and programs.
Lab members will conduct an annual review of both the mission statement of action items identified to ensure adequate actions were taken in the past year and that we are meeting the goals of the mission. Modifications and addition of new items will be made upon review to target deficits in particular areas. We will post updates on our progress with these action items on this webpage.