WASHINGTON, D.C., Oct. 8, 2020 – Dr. Robert Sellers was a member of the Howard University football team where he earned All-America honors with the Bison. In 1985, the Cincinnati native graduated from The Mecca with honors (cum laude), receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology.
 
After graduation, Dr. Sellers went to the University of Michigan where he earned a Ph.D. in personality psychology ('90). Following his graduate work, he served as an assistant and an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Virginia.
 
In 1997, Dr. Sellers returned to Michigan where he continued his research and teaching efforts. His primary research activities have focused on the role of race in the psychological lives of African-Americans where he and his students have developed a conceptual and empirical model of African-American racial identity. The model has been used by several researchers in the field to understand the heterogeneity in the significance and meaning that African-Americans place on race in defining themselves.
 
Dr. Sellers has received significant recognition for his research and teaching. He is a past President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Ethnic Minority Issues (Division 45 of the American Psychological Association) and a fellow of Division 8 (Society for Personality and Social Psychology) and Division 45 (Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race) of the American Psychological Association, along with a fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.
 
He also won numerous honors and awards, including the Theodore Millon Mid-Career Award in Personality Psychology from the American Psychological Foundation, the American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program Research Achievement Award, and the APAGS Kenneth & Mamie Clark Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Professional Development of Ethnic Minority Graduate Students.
 
From 2011-14, he served as the Associate Chair of the Department of Psychology at Michigan before accepting the Department Chair.
 
Currently, Dr. Sellers is the Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion, Chief Diversity Officer, and the Charles D. Moody Collegiate Professor of Psychology and Education. As Vice Provost for Equity and Inclusion & Chief Diversity Officer, he works with the provost and executive vice president for academic affairs on matters related to diversity at the university, along with a broad range of academic issues including the budget, faculty tenure and promotions, and student enrollment. He oversees operations of three central administrative units.