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Rosie Phillips Bingham: On Becoming


Helen A. Neville
The Counseling Psychologist 2012 40: 443 originally published online 6
September 2011
DOI: 10.1177/0011000011414212
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Legacies and Traditions Forum

Rosie Phillips Bingham:


On Becoming

The Counseling Psychologist


40(3) 443-472
The Author(s) 2012
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DOI: 10.1177/0011000011414212
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Helen A. Neville1

Abstract
Rosie Phillips Bingham has contributed to the field of counseling psychology
and the broader discipline of psychology in myriad ways. She is nationally recognized for her innovation, leadership skills, and fundraising capabilities. She is
also known for her commitment to student development and her caring mentoring approach. In this life narrative, the multiple factors influencing Rosies
professional development are uncovered, as is her journey in becoming a selfassured psychologist who is committed to social justice and who has made a
significant difference in individuals lives and in the profession.
Keywords
life narrative, professional issues, social justice
Rosie is one of the most respected psychologists in the nation. She is without
peer in her ability to effectively lead. She has always been in the forefront of
visionary changes in the field, able to get different groups to collaborate with one
another, been gifted in building consensus even among competing groups, and
has ably moved the profession to confront important issues of the future.
Derald Wing Sue

Past president of the Society of Counseling Psychology (SCP), Derald Wing


Sue, captures the essence of Rosie Phillips Binghams leadership style and
1

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois USA

Corresponding Author:
Helen A. Neville, Department of Educational Psychology, 1310 S. Sixth St.,Champaign, IL 61820.
Email: hneville@illinois.edu

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professional contributions in the opening quote. Rosie is widely recognized


for her wise counsel, generous mentoring style, creative problem-solving,
fundraising capabilities, and implementation of inclusive excellence. One of
Rosies unique talents is the ability to bridge boundaries. She is able to mediate
between groups from different cultural and ideological backgrounds to facilitate change. Elaborating on her bridging skills, past SCP president Puncky
Heppner observes that Rosies vision and ability to get everyone involved in a
community of inclusion is both remarkable and enlightening. He continues by
noting that Rosies values, vision, leadership, diplomacy, poise, interpersonal
style, and humor represent a phenomenal combination of skills that have
greatly impacted many peoples lives.
With such leadership skills, it is not surprising that Rosie has made wideranging contributions to the field of counseling psychology and the broader
discipline of psychology. Rosie is the first of manythe first in her family to
attend college, the first African American to serve as president of the SCP,
the first African American woman to run for president of the American
Psychological Association (APA), and so forth. At the same time, she is more
than the firstshe is a woman of courage who has had a transformative influence on multiple systems, even as a graduate student. For example, toward the
end of her graduate school career, Rosie assisted Ohio Dominican University in
establishing an Academic Effectiveness Center for which she served as the first
director. After graduating from The Ohio State University, she secured a psychologist position at the University of Florida counseling center, and within
several years she was associate director. Rosie returned to her roots in Memphis
and for the past 25 years has served in leadership positions at the University of
Memphis, including her current role as Vice President for Student Affairs. Prior
positions included Director of the Center for Student Development and the
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs. Over the years she has helped to
make institutional changes at the University of Memphis, including working
with others to establish an APA-approved pre-doctoral psychology internship,
develop a retention program for academically talented Black students, rescue
and grow a financially threatened student health center, and secure funds to
build a new $51 million state-of-the-art student center facility. Her professional
and community contributions are too numerous to detail here. Highlights include
being one of the four founders and initial organizers of the National Multicultural
Conference and Summit and co-founding the philanthropic group Womens
Foundation for A Greater Memphis.
Rosie identified the process of becoming self-assured as a journey from
inferiority to being a human being; a journey from being this person who
felt little self-value to knowing that its okay and good enough. Rosies

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development represents the process of challenging internalized representations of self primarily because of poverty, color, and race to accepting that she
is complete and whole with many talents. The title thus reflects Rosies journey
and her process of becoming a person, mother, friend, mentor, and professional. Rosies story is unique to her life experiences. Her story also reflects
the experiences of many girls and women in America, particularly African
American girls coming of age at the cusp of the modern Civil Rights and
Black Power movements. Thus, at critical junctures, I place her narrative
within a historical backdrop.
What I hope is captured in this narrative is Rosies authenticity and genuine warmth. It is difficult to fully represent the multidimensional nature of an
individual in one short life narrative. I wish everyone had an opportunity to
listen to the taped interviews with Rosie. What strikes me most about the series
of conversations is the honesty in which she talked about her life. Rosie
placed her narrative within context and did not shy away from the complexities
of real life. I had a similar reaction as did Valene A. Whitaker, a counseling
psychology doctoral student who assisted with transcribing the nearly 6 hours
of tape. In her process notes, Valene underscored the inspirational nature of
Rosies story and the influence she has on others:
When I think back over the entire interview as a whole, I am perhaps
most profoundly affected by the fact that transcribing this conversation
allowed me to really get a sense of why Dr. Bingham is so well-regarded
in the field of psychology as a whole, and why she means so much to
so many psychologists and future psychologists! Listening to the interview gave me such a clear sense of her authenticity as a Black woman,
and as someone who found success in her career, even after a few
professional and personal setbacks. As she spoke, it was evident to me
that this was a woman who did not seem to feel as if she had to sacrifice
loving her husband and son or connecting with and finding support
from close friends and colleagues, in order to advance her career. It is
encouraging for me to look to her as an example of a psychologist who
has achieved so much in life, while still staying true to her goals and
aspirations, and maintaining her sense of self.
This life narrative consists of quotations based on excerpts from my conversations with Rosie. We talked about her early life, critical incidents in her
development as a person and as a professional, and peak and nadir experiences. I read and reread the transcribed conversations. Through my close read
of the text, I decided the best way to represent Rosies story in this article was

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Table 1. Selected Educational and Professional Experiences and Achievements of


Rosie Phillips Bingham
1971
1971-1972
1973
1976-1978
1977
1978-1983
1983-1985
1985-1993
1985-Present
1988-1989
1993-2003
1994
1994
1996
1998-1999
1999-2001
2000
2001-2007
2002
2003-Present
2004
2004
2004-2006
2006
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009-2011

B.A. in Sociology/Education, Elmhurst College


Assistant Manager, Illinois Bell Telephone
M.A. in Counseling and Guidance, The Ohio State University
Director, Academic Development Center and Assistant Professor
of Psychology, Ohio Dominican College
Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, The Ohio State University
Psychologist, University of Counseling Center, University of
Florida
Associate Director, Counseling Center, University of Florida
Director, Center for Student Development, University of
Memphis
Professor, Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology &
Research and Department of Psychology
Chair, Association for University and College Counseling Center
Directors
Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs, University of
Memphis
President, International Association of Counseling Center Service
American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) Diplomate
Pioneering African American Woman Award
President, APA Division 17
National Multicultural Conference and Summit, Host &
Co-Organizer
Academy of Counseling Psychology Distinguished Service Award
APA, Council of Representatives
Honorary Ph.D., American Council of Education National
Leadership Forum Phillips Graduate Institute
Vice President for Student Affairs, University of Memphis
Woman of the Year, APA, Division 17, Section for the
Advancement of Women
Charles and Shirley Thomas Award, APA Division 45
Chair, Womens Foundation for a Greater Memphis
APA Presidential Candidate
Lifetime Achievement in Mentoring, APA Division 17
Dalmas A. Taylor Award for leadership, scholarship, and advocacy
for racial and ethnic minorities in psychology and higher
education, The National Multicultural Conference
APA, Board of Educational Affairs
Janet E. Helms Award for Mentoring and Scholarship, Teachers
College
APA, Board of Directors

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Neville
Table 2. Selected Publications of Rosie Phillips Bingham

Bingham, R. P., & Walsh, W. B. (1978). Concurrent validity of Hollands theory for
college-degreed black women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 13, 242-250.
Walsh, W. B., Horton, J., & Bingham, R. P. (1979). A comparison of the concurrent
validity of Hollands theory with college-degreed Black women and collegedegreed White women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 13, 217-223.
Bingham, R. P., & Tucker, C. M. (1981). The counseling center practitioner as
researcher. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 59, 531-536.
Bingham, R. P., Fukuyama, M., Suchman, D., & Parker, W. M. (1984). Ethnic student
walk-in: Expanding the scope. Journal of College Student Personnel, 25, 168-169.
Sheffey, M. A., Bingham, R. P., & Walsh, W. B. (1986). Concurrent validity of Hollands
theory for college educated black men. Journal of Multicultural Counseling and
Development, 64, 437-439.
Walsh, W. B., Bingham, R. P., & Sheffey, M. (1986). Hollands theory and college
educated black men and women. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 29, 194-200.
Ward, C. M., & Bingham, R. P. (1993). Career assessment of ethnic minority
women. Journal of Career Assessment, 1, 246-257.
Fouad, N., & Bingham, R. P. (1995). Career counseling with racial/ethnic minorities.
In W. B. Walsh & S. H. Osipow (Eds.), Handbook of vocational psychology (2nd ed.,
pp. 331-366). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bingham, R. P., & Ward, C. M. (1997). Theory into assessment: A model for women
of color. Journal of Career Assessment, 5, 403-418.
Sue, D. W., Bingham, R. P., Porch-Burke, L., & Vasquez, M. (1999). The diversification
of psychology: A multicultural revolution. American Psychologist, 54, 1061-1069.
Walsh, W. B., Bingham, R. P., Brown, M., & Ward, C. M. (Eds.). (2001). Career
counseling for African Americans. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bingham, R. P. (2003). Fostering human strength: A counseling psychology
perspective. In W. B. Walsh (Ed.), Counseling psychology and optimal human
functioning (pp. 279-296). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bingham, R. P., Ward, C. M., & McGhee, M. (2006). Career counseling with African
American women. In W. B. Walsh & M. J. Heppner (Eds.), Career counseling with
women (2nd ed., pp.165-195). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bingham, R. P. (2009). My life is a balance between. . . In J. Ponterotto, J. M. Casas,
L. A. Suzuki, & C. M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (3rd ed.,
pp. 19-24). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

to highlight key dimensions related to her development as a professional. In


this article, I briefly identify key childhood experiences as a way to contextualize her later undergraduate and college student experiences. This information also provides the backdrop for understanding Rosies commitment to
creating inclusive environments and her dedication to social justice. From
these discussions, we can see Rosies strengths and the incredible obstacles

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Rosie has overcome in her life, including the intense racial oppression in the
Jim Crow era and extreme poverty. We also get a glimpse of Rosie as a precocious youth with a vivid imagination. Later, I outline Rosies professional
development and accomplishments. Because Rosie is involved in a wide
range of professional and community organizations, I focus on her contributions to the university settings in which she has worked and the American
Psychological Association, especially Division 17. What emerge in these summaries are Rosies resourcefulness and imaginative leadership style and
effectiveness. I include brief discussions of the role of family and faith in her
life to acknowledge their importance in her life story. I conclude with Rosies
words of wisdom to emerging professionals; this seemed fitting given her commitment to the development of students and professionals.

Contextualizing a Life of Becoming


Rosie was born in Scott, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta region on April
12, 1949, as the first child of Jake and Savanah Phillips. Eight siblings were to
follow. Rosie has at least four older siblings from her parents previous relationships: two from her mother and two or more from her father. Thus, Rosie is one
of at least 12 children. Like many African American families living in Mississippi
in the 1940s, Rosies family sharecropped and lived on a plantation called
Fallback. As sharecroppers, the Phillips family lived on and cultivated a plot on
Fallback. The family was required to give a large percentage of the profits they
earned from crops, such as cotton to the owners of the plantation.
Rosie grew up in an era and a place in which everyone worked hard and each
family member had a job and place. Rosie described her early life before the
age of 5 as being filled with hard work and one of childhood mischief:
On Fallback plantation we lived in what was referred to as a shotgun
house. As sharecroppers we worked the cotton field; we chopped cotton
[i.e., hoeing the cotton in the summer] and picked cotton [i.e., plucking
the blossoms in the fall]. We lived in a place that conjures images of the
country store where you would buy red soda pop, and peanuts, and mix
it together and drink. My family grew vegetables in the garden near the
house, like yams and butterbeans. Everybody had to work. As a kid I was
also assigned work. I vividly remember one particular incident. Like
many kids, I was mischievous. A neighbor down the road did something
to me; I forget what happened. But I do remember turning around patting
my butt [a sassy gesture in African American culture]. The neighbor told
my sister Georgia, who was working in the field, that she was going to

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tell my mother. Georgia and I plotted how we were going to kill the lady.
We were going to feed her some ants. I remember when my mother
returned from the fields; she was sitting outside and I was in the kitchen
sweeping. I heard the neighbor telling my mother what I did. I knew I
was in trouble. My mother called me out, turned me across her lap and
spanked me. What I remember about that story is the fact that I was
actually cleaning; I was four or five years old. The point of the story is
that in some ways children are so different now; when I was growing up
children worked in some capacity.
Rosies life was filled with the love of family that countered many of the
harsh realities of racialized poverty and Jim Crow policies. These realities are
captured in the following story about being critically ill as a child:
I remember going to the hospital when my brother and I were very ill
with typhoid fever. We got sick from drinking the water that was delivered to our house in barrels. I was sick first; my brother was later ill. I
remember the hospital was divided into the colored section and the white
section. My mother was very good to us and took very good care of us.
And my father gave me a blood transfusion.
Rosies family moved to Memphis when she was 5 years old, after her illness
with typhoid fever. The move took place at a time in which farm mechanization increased and consequently sharecropping as a mode of production was
becoming obsolete. The Phillips family became part of the Second Great
Migration in which African Americans from the Deep South fled racism and
sought increased economic opportunities in more industrialized cities. The
Phillips family did not migrate to a northern city such as Chicago, like the
majority of African American Mississippians during this time. Instead, they
migrated to Memphis to be close to family.

Overcoming Oppressions, Uncovering Strengths


The Phillips family moved to Memphis to live with Rosies paternal grandmother. Memphis was not a bed of roses, however. Rosie endured colorism
(or the preferences for light complexioned people) within and outside of the
family. The type of colorism Rosie experienced is part of a larger system of
White supremacy and is not uncommon within the African American community from slavery until present day. Color stratification exists as reflected in the
on-average greater educational attainment, annual income, and perceived

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attractiveness of lighter complexioned African Americans (women in particular) compared to their darker counterparts (see Russell, Wilson, &
Hall, 1993). Racism structured Rosies larger social world in terms of the
economic exploitation of her family and the inferior services provided to
African Americans in the South. Colorism and sexism intersected to influence Rosies direct experiences of discrimination as a Black girl. Within the
family, the lighter grandchildren were given preferences, and outside of the
home, she was taunted with names such as Black and ugly. Poverty also
played a role in Rosies development. The majority of African Americans in
segregated Memphis in the 1950s were poor. Rosies family were the poor
among the poorthe church mice poor. Although her familys social condition was a source of embarrassment, it served as the impetus to achieve in
school and later in life.
Rosie was resilient and actively challenged the external representations
of her. She relied on internal resources such as her imagination to redefine
the color and class discrimination to survive the torments and thrive in
school:
Learning to cope with color issues outside of the home was a critical
incident for me growing up. I dealt with being teased by learning to use
my imagination. One way I used my imagination was to think to myself,
Every time somebody calls me ugly, Im going to pretend I have a dollar, and Im going to buy stuff that I want. In addition to learning to use
my imagination, I learned how to reframe a negative situation into a
positive situation to make it more bearable.
Rosie learned to read at an early age, before starting school. Reading also
served as a resource for her as she dealt with colorism and poverty throughout
her childhood and adolescence. Reading fueled her imagination and enhanced
her self-esteem:
Reading allowed me to escape. Reading allowed me to have a bigger
vision for what my life could be. Reading also contributed to my vivid
imagination. My imagination in turn enabled me to create things in my
head. For example, as a child I imagined myself living in New York
wearing a sophisticated suit and meeting the love of my life. Through
reading I was able to imagine a different world. The fact that reading
has the potential to expand ones world is fundamental, especially to
children who are in an oppressed situation in which their world experiences are restricted.

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Rosie attended Manassas High School, founded in 1900 and one of the centers of pride of Black Memphians (Jenkins, 2009). In the mid-1960s, Memphis
tried to integrate the public schools, but the Black students, including Rosie,
refused to attend the new integrated high school. It was not that they opposed
attending school with White youths; they had nothing against Whites, as they
had very few interactions with them. These students identified with and were
attached to their high school; they wanted to graduate from Manassas, a place
they loved! Even today, graduates of Manassas get together regularly for activities such as monthly luncheons.
In high school, Rosie found acceptance and a sense of community with
other smart and talented youths. Yet this acceptance came at a cost:
When I was in ninth grade, I was selected to be in the tenth grade club
called the Deburetts. This club had about 20 or more members. I never
thought I would be selected to be a member, but I was thrilled to be part
of the group. The senior elitist club was the Double Ten Society.
Members of the Double Ten were considered the smart kids, and many
were lighter and were part of the middle-class. Although I was neither
light nor middle class, I was selected to be a part of the group in large
part because I was smart. Since I was bright, I was tracked with kids
with more advantages. My friends who lived in my neighborhood were
not in the same track. This means I had two sets of friends. I had my
friends in the neighborhood who were my walk around the block
friends, and my friends whom I spent most of my time with in school.
I began to resent that my friends at home were not good enough. The
various clubs would sponsor parties. Club members turned in a list of
students to invite to the party. Inevitably, not one person from my neighborhood was perceived as good enough by the advisors to invite to the
party. I did not like that kind of exclusion.
In reflecting on her childhood and adolescent experiences, Rosie identifies
the poverty, perception of her neighborhood friends as not being good
enough, and her familys internal dynamics as helping her to be an accepting
person of a wide range of people later in life. She also views the acceptance of
others as an essential piece of her own self-acceptance.

Going to College and Coming Into Her Own


Rosie entered college in 1967 at a moment in which the country was undergoing transformation. The United States was changing rapidly in the mid-to-late

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1960s. It was a time of protests against a war and injustices on the home
front. During his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson initiated a series of legislations designed to end poverty and racial injustices under the vision of the
Great Society. The Higher Education Act of 1965 was part of these programs;
the act increased access to higher education to racial minorities, and poor and
working-class Whites. Thus, bright and talented students such as Rosie who
would have been excluded from college previously were admitted and provided financial assistance.
Rosies strong academic record provided her with many college options to
consider. She was accepted to a number of colleges; she ultimately decided to
attend Elmhurst College, a small liberal arts college outside of Chicago. In
high school, Rosie was relatively quiet, conservative, and tried to conform to
the status quo. Rosie blossomed at Elmhurst. Like so many youth of her generation, Rosies social consciousness was awakened during her college years.
Also during this time, the seeds of leadership that were planted in Rosies high
school years as part of the Deburetts sprouted as she assumed a number of
leadership positions in college:
I received scholarships to Mount Holyoke, University of Chicago,
Vanderbilt, Cornell, Ithaca, and a number of other schools. I didnt tell
anyone that I was scared to attend some of the schools. My biggest fear
was social. I was afraid that I would be isolated. I didnt voice my concerns to anyone. Instead, I chose not to act on the scholarship offers.
I ultimately decided to attend Elmhurst College. One of the recruiters
came to our high school and recruited three of us. I received a full ride.
Elmhurst, Illinois, is a middle-class suburb outside of Chicago. The
school is a beautiful, little school. In my class, there were about 23
African Americans. At the time I attended college, the campus was
maybe 3,000 students. By the time I graduated from college, there were
perhaps 150 African American students.
I had a great time in college, though. I began to participate in peace
marches and other types of protests. I was very conservative in high
school. I preferred Martin Luther King to Malcolm X. I believed in
the domino theory of communism [the belief that if one country fell to
communism then so would neighbor counties] and in the Vietnam War.
These were values and beliefs that were reinforced by my high school
teachers that I internalized. I began to challenge these beliefs in college.
I came out against the war and I became active pretty early on.

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I was a Resident Advisor in the dorm. I was president of the Association


of Womens Students. And I co-chaired the Black Leaders Organized
and Consolidated. As part of the BLOC, we invited speakers like Betty
Shabazz and singers like the Delfonics and the Dells. Black Panthers like
Fred Hampton also spoke on campus. By the second semester of my
freshman year, I began to develop a Black consciousness and embraced
the slogan of the day: Im Black and Im proud.
We were also involved in campus politics. When the football players
were going on strike because of perceived racism on campus, the Black
students crafted a list of demands they wanted the administration to
address. We enticed the president and the football coach to meet with
the football players to discuss the concerns. They met in the Chapel. As
they met with the football players, over 100 Black Students, my friend
Tony and I as co-chairs of Black Leaders Organized and Consolidated,
marched over to the Chapel; we would not allow the president or the
coach to leave. We joined hands and we were not going to let them
leave until they addressed the demands. We were so organized. The
White students were outside of the Chapel; although I was not outside,
I was told that they were protesting our actions. We were focused and
we were scared. The police also came and were outside. We had a great
president of that college. The president handled the situation perfectly;
he calmly helped us to talk through what we wanted, among which was
more Black faculty. The president must have worked behind the scenes
because none of us went to jail. He helped us schedule a meeting with
the Board of Trustees. I appreciated what he did.
This civil disobedience incident was a pivotal point for Rosie. In reflecting
on the experience, Rosie and the other student leaders received very little
guidance from their Black faculty advisors: The faculty believed they were
doing the right thing in not telling us what to do, but instead letting us arrive at
our own conclusions. Rosie wanted more from them than what they were able
to provide. This is one reason Rosie actively provides students with direct and
hands-on support; she provides students space to talk through issues, even
controversial ones.
A number of social events happened in Rosies first year of college that
significantly influenced the world around her. The 1968 Memphis Sanitation
Strike took place in her second semester. During this strike, her father, who
was a sanitation worker, marched with others to protest poor and dangerous
working conditions and the lack of union rights and protection. Consistent with

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the racial stratification in most jobs during this time, the Black sanitation workers completed the dirtiest and lowest paying jobs. Rosie remembers hearing
stories about Black workers being forced to eat meals outside of the truck
near the maggot infested garbage. Martin Luther King, Jr., actively participated in these protest activities and was assassinated in Memphis toward the
end of the 2-month strike:
When the strike began in Memphis, I began to send money home to
help out with the expenses. I had two jobs. One job was a desk job at
the university, which paid me a dollar an hour. I made more money at
my other job; I cleaned the home of a nice White lady. She wanted her
floors scrubbed. That meant I had to get on my hands and knees and
scrub her floor. That was challenging. However, I learned how to
clean from that woman.
I remember it was a critical incident when Dr. King was killed. The
women students at Elmhurst were in the midst of trying to form a
sorority. Elmhurst did not have sororities on campus at that time. The
Black and White women who were interested in forming a sorority
joined efforts. Without our knowledge, the White women that were
part of this joint effort formed their own sorority. We were in the music
listening room of the student center talking to these same White
women students when my girlfriend Shirley slammed the door open
and yelled, Talking to these White people about having a sorority, and
they shot Dr. King. The death of Martin Luther King, Jr., created
havoc on campus. This was an interesting time. As students, we talked;
there was a lot of crying. We engaged in difficult dialogues. It was
pretty amazing.
In following up with the story about the sororities, Rosie noted:
We never talked with the White women students about it again. Some
African American women students joined city chapters of sororities in
Chicago. Most of the students did not join sororities at that time. I
joined Delta Sigma Theta [a historically African American sorority]
in graduate school.
Rosie excelled in all aspects of college. She received good grades, was
a student leader committed to social change, and worked. Her only academic

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difficulty was identifying an intellectually engaging major. Although Rosie did


not major in psychology as an undergraduate, she stumbled onto counselor
education as a masters student where she was then introduced to the field of
counseling psychology:
I had difficulty trying to figure out a major. I was bored in the general
psychology classes. Im amazed that Im a psychologist. I wanted to be
a history major. I was advised that history teachers are a dime a dozen.
Since I told my advisor that I wanted to help people, he recommended
that I major in sociology. He never suggested psychology. I followed his
advice and I was disappointed in my major. This is why I believe if
students have a passion, they should follow it.

Transitioning to the Real World


A Year of Reflection and Preparation
Rosie took a year off between undergraduate and graduate schools. The year
provided her an opportunity to reflect on the nature of work and her ideas about
social transformation she developed in college. She worked for the telephone
company Illinois Bell, one of the largest employers of African American
women at that time in Chicago:
As a sociology major, I knew I needed to obtain a graduate degree to
move forward in a career. My first intent was to return to Memphis after
graduating from Elmhurst to become a teacher. I went back and they
were not hiring Black teachers to teach in my areas of interest. I returned
to Chicago and worked for Illinois Bell, the phone company. That was
a very good experience for me. I worked at Bell from the end of May
1971 until September 1972, when I entered graduate school. This experience prompted a shift in my thinking. As college students we talked
about rebelling and the formation of a Black state. At Bell, I began to
realize that working women were not going to strike for some of these
causes because they had children to feed. It was a good growing up
experience for me; it provided me space to question some of the assumptions I developed in college. Working helped me to become more of a
practical realist; it helped me to put race relations in a little different
perspective than when I was in college. It probably helped that my boss
was an African American woman because I was able to see an African
American woman who was responsible for a large office.

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Finding Counseling PsychologyThe Graduate School Years


Similar to many working-class students, Rosie did not have people in her community who modeled the range of career possibilities for college graduates,
with the exception of teaching. She also attended college prior to the implementation of many of the formal mentoring programs to help underrepresented
students navigate graduate school options. As a consequence, applying for
graduate school was an unfamiliar process:
When I applied to graduate school I was not 100% sure what I was doing.
I didnt have a plan. I implemented a chaos theory of career development.
I applied for and was accepted into graduate school at The Ohio State
University. I loved being there. I was accepted in the M.A. counselor
education program. My advisor was an African American faculty member named (Richard) Moriba Kelsey. I learned a lot about hard work
from him; he would not allow me to take an incomplete and consequently I never took an incomplete throughout my graduate studies.
I found psychology as a Student Personnel Assistant (SPA). The SPA
students were graduate assistants and held various jobs around campus.
As a SPA you could take classes in three tracksthe student personnel
track, which trains you to be an administrator such as a dean of students;
the counselor education track; and the psychology track. I dont know
why I chose the psychology track, but I chose that set of courses. Taking
these courses brought me into contact with the counseling psychology
faculty. Dave Shaw was the Director of Admission for the counseling
psychology program. He told me, You know, I think that you would be
great in the counseling psychology program, and that you should get a
doctorate. I chair the admissions committee, why dont you have your
folder sent over from the College of Education. I arranged for my
folder to be sent over. And later, I received a letter indicating contingent upon finishing your masters, youre admitted into the counseling
psychology Ph.D. program.
Rosie established a strong and supportive circle of friends in graduate school,
many of whom she remains close to today, particularly Alvenia Rhea Albright
and Barbara Henley. These were the friends who were more like sisters; when
things got tough, they were there to support and bolster me. In addition
to the social support she received from her sister-friends, Rosie found a supportive advisor and lifelong mentor in Bruce Walsh while at The Ohio
State University. Bruce provided her with instrumental support throughout her

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graduate years. For example, he helped her study for qualifying examinations
by teaching her how to respond to questions on the basis of her knowledge. He
also assisted her in navigating the political terrain of graduate school, and he
continued to support her professional development through writing and other
activities. She began to really appreciate Bruces support and guidance when
deciding on who she wanted to place on her oral qualifying examination committee and then later when working on her dissertation:
As an eager and motivated graduate student, I wanted to prove that I
was bright and capable. As part of these efforts, I decided to put on my
oral examining committee the most difficult men on the faculty. Bruce
approached me and said, Rosie, didnt you and so and so have a little
disagreement? I replied, No, he was complimentary of me. Bruce
briefly responded, Well, didnt the two of you have. . .. I later reflected
on my conversation with Bruce and decided to follow his advice and
remove the person from the oral committee. The entire faculty graded
students written examinations at Ohio State. I did well on the written
examination, with the exception of one set of low scores. Bruce commented, You have one low set, but we called that one.
I think a part of what cemented Bruces place in my life so firmly was his
assistance and support throughout the dissertation process. We used cards
to run data analyses when I was in graduate school. When I was ready to
analyze my data, Bruce offered to meet me early in the morning and to
stay with me as long as it took to complete the analyses. This turned into
a day-long activity. I completed the analysis in the computer lab and
returned to Bruces office. We reviewed the printout together, worked out
problems, and identified the next steps. I returned to the computer lab and
we repeated this process. Bruce also helped to pay for my materials.
Rosies dissertation built on Bruces vocational interest research in a number of important ways. Specifically, Rosie was interested in examining the
applicability of career theories with Black women. There were very few articles on career issues with Black women at the time Rosie was working on her
dissertation. A PsycInfo search yielded three articles published between 1973
and 1977 in this general area. Thus Rosies work validating two operationalizations of Hollands Theory with college-educated Black women was
groundbreaking. She spent a year collecting data on nearly 100 Black women
with college degrees; findings from her study provide initial support of common assessments of Hollands theory with this population.

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After completing the dissertation, Bruce encouraged her to write a manuscript on the basis of the findings: He was the first person to say to me, I think
we ought to publish an article. In fact, Rosie received her degree in 1977, and
the following year she was the lead author on a Journal of Vocational
Behavior article reporting findings from the dissertation. Bruce continued to
encourage Rosie to publish research in general: He asked me if I wanted to
write a book chapter with him on career counseling with African American
women, and so Dr. Connie Ward and I wrote the chapter. Subsequently,
Rosie co-authored a few other articles with Bruce, including the 2001 coedited book Career Counseling With African Americans (Walsh, Bingham,
Brown, & Ward, 2001). Rosie also established an independent line of research.
She and her colleagues helped to articulate a model of conceptualizing and
assessing career theory for women of color. For example, in her 1997 Journal
of Career Assessment article with Connie Ward, they built on her earlier work
and outlined four areas relevant for career assessment with racial and ethnic
minority women, including: cultural (e.g., identity, structural oppression), gender (e.g., gender role socialization), self-efficacy (e.g., career), and traditional
career assessment variables (e.g., values, interests).
In addition to nurturing her research, Bruce has supported Rosie throughout her professional career:
He is responsible for me being a fellow. One day he approached me
and said, Rosie, I think its time for you to be a fellow. At that time,
I was unaware of fellow status and its importance in the field. When I was
not awarded fellow after the first nomination, Bruce phoned me and
encouraged me to try again. Later in my career it was Bruce who gave me
the oath of office as Division 17 president. He was so proud.

On Becoming a Professional
Rosie experienced a number of developmental turns in her journey to becoming a professional, including the in-between status of being all but dissertation
or A.B.D., and securing and beginning her first job as a newly minted Ph.D.
This period represents tremendous personal and professional growth:
When I was close to completing my doctorate I worked as a faculty
member at Ohio Dominican College (now University), a small liberal
arts school. I was offered an Associate Dean of Students position at
Oberlin College, but I decided to stay in Columbus until I finished my
degree; I was afraid of being an A.B.D. While at Ohio Dominican, I
wrote a proposal for them to establish an Academic Effectiveness Center,

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and to hire me as the full-time director. And to my surprise, they did.


When I finished my doctorate, they offered me a permanent Assistant
Professor position.
A couple of things mitigated me staying in Columbus, the most important
being an attractive job offer. My very good friend and peer David Cross
and I attended the American Personnel and Guidance Association, which
is now the American Counseling Association, in Washington, D.C. I
noticed that Max Parker was on the program. I told David I wanted to
meet him. David reminded me that everybody wants to talk to him.
I devised a plan to invite him to lunch at the end of the question-andanswer period of his presentation. My plan was successful. Max Parker
and I went to lunch. During lunch he informed me about a job at the
University of Florida. That was how I interviewed for [and subsequently
received] the psychologist position at the University of Florida counseling center.
Rosie quickly realized she made the right decision by moving to Florida.
She enjoyed the clinical work. She also established strong and supportive
relationships with a circle of women professionals in Florida. Jerrie Scott is
one such friend; they remain close today. In fact, they are colleagues now
at the University of Memphis. When Rosie started the new position in
Florida, she proactively began to shape her career, letting others know one of
her goals was to become a director of a counseling center:
I loved Florida. I saw a ton of clientsbetween my groups and my individual clients, I saw over 50 clients per week. I loved it! I facilitated a
Black womens self-enrichment group. In Florida, they really encouraged
and supported my development as an emerging professional. Max Parker
is the person who told me to write about everything I did. He disavowed
me of the notion that I had to conduct a grand study and publish it; he
encouraged me to write about my evolving theoretical developments
and insights gained from my clinical work. I began to write and claim
the work that I was doing.
When I accepted the job in Florida, I employed my own version of career
development; I knew that I should begin preparing for the next job in
my career. And the next job I wanted was to be director of a counseling center. I told the directors that were at the counseling center during
my tenure at Florida of my interest. They facilitated my development by
having me substitute for them at meetings. There were two counseling

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center directors during my time at Florida: J. Milan Kolarik and James


Jim Archer. Jim Archer promoted me to Associate Director.

Finding Her Stride: Professional


Development and Leadership
Rosie was promoted to Associate Director of the counseling center after
5 years in Florida. She enjoyed her work, but had her sights on a position with
increased responsibilities. In 1985, she applied for and accepted a job as the
Director of the Center for Student Development at Memphis State University,
which later became the University of Memphis. The new position was ideal
for her; it provided her an opportunity to direct a counseling center and, moreover, to be close to family. Rosie and her husband John Davis started a family
with the birth of their son, Akil, and she wanted to raise her child around the
love and support of a large extended family. Securing the Memphis job was
a long process. Once hired, though, Rosie was quite successful in making
important changes in terms of developing the center and improving student
outcomes on campus:
I applied for the Director for the Center for Student Development. The
person to whom the job reported sent a letter indicating that they had
decided to close the search. I inquired why the search was closed, because
I know that when a search closes it is generally because of one of two
reasons: the pool is not strong enough or the institution lost funding for
the position. The search was basically closed because the overall applicant pool was not satisfactory to the employers. I was told that I did not
have enough budget experience. However, I was one of two or three
people who were asked to reapply. They reopened the search immediately
in hopes that they would have a satisfactory application pool. I reapplied
and was subsequently hired. I became the director of the center, with a
charge to start an APA-accredited internship. I came to the University of
Memphis in 1985; we had our first internship class in 1987.
The creation of the APA-accredited internship site was part of a larger vision
for the center. Rosie was able to grow the center in some important ways,
including increasing the size of the center staff and further developing the testing aspect of the center. Under her leadership, the Testing Center moved to a
new location, changed the coordinator qualification to that of a psychologist,
and expanded the Educational Support Program to promote student learning
and provide tutoring. These opportunities provided interns with experience and

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training in assessment, which was rare at that time. The Center also created the
College: Getting Down to Basics program as an outreach effort to high school
students interested in attending college. Rosie and her staff also initiated a program to promote Black student development. They formed Black Scholars
Unlimited, which remains active today. According to the mission statement of the honor society, Black Scholars Unlimited is designed to promote
academic excellence, leadership, and service (see http://www.memphis.edu/
multiculturalaffairs/organizations.htm).
Shortly after V. Lane Rawlins became president of the University of Memphis
in 1991, he asked the Vice President, Donald K. Carson, to restructure student
affairs. Don restructured student affairs and subsequently created two assistant
vice president positions. Rosie was encouraged to apply for one of the positions. Rosie accepted the Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs/Student
Development position when it was offered to her.
Rosie was able to accomplish a lot during her 9 years as Assistant Vice
President for Student Affairs. In this position, Rosie was responsible for the
Health Center, the Center for Student Development, the Athletic Academic
Center, Student Disability Services, and the Career Center. The accomplishments of her leadership team are extensive. I will briefly highlight a few.
First, Rosie was able to transform the culture such that the five units, instead
of working relatively independently, worked as a team. They identified the theme
Students First and were able to prioritize budget requests as a team. Thinking
outside of the box, Rosie and her team were able to revitalize and grow the Health
Center, which was in danger of being eliminated. She also worked with others
to increase the retention efforts of the university. This included (a) encouraging the university to hire nationally recognized higher education consultants
to assist with recruitment and retention efforts, (b) influencing college efforts
such that every college within the university (such as the College of Engineering)
developed a retention plan, (c) conducting research to identify predictors of
students success (they found that GPA was a better predictor than ACT score),
and (d) instituting the first freshmen Introduction to the University course.
When Don Carson retired in 2003, Rosies son was a freshman in college.
At this time, Rosie applied for the vacated position and also other positions
in the country. Rosie was offered and ultimately accepted the vice presidency
position. This new position increased her leverage to implement additional
changes on campus and to promote student learning and development. Rosie
was excited about the possibilities the Vice President for Student Affairs position provided and she was acutely aware of the university hierarchy, which
many times devalues the contributions of student affairs. Rosie was also aware
of the way in which race and gender played a role in how others responded to

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the leadership of women of color. Research shows that Rosies concerns were
grounded in reality. Black women leaders authority is often undermined, in
spite of the multiple ways in which their leadership as a group contributes to
resolving conflict and negotiating resolutions (see Parker, 2005):
. . . it is really difficult for women and persons of color to have credibility when they step through the door. When I got the job as Vice President,
I realized that everybody thought that they could tell me how to do my
job. No matter which area they were responsible for. I just capitalized
on that and used that to my advantage. I felt free to come into the meetings and make controversial suggestions because I knew people would
dismiss me by saying, She just doesnt know any better. This provided
our team an opportunity to confront some really difficult things. I was
able to turn a potential negative into a positive.
The previous passage highlights the ways in which racism, sexism, and their
intersections may influence others responses to Rosie and more importantly
Rosies refusal to be defined by these isms:
I want to keep on claiming my power. I have no interest in being a victim
of sexism and racism. That is not to say that these two societal problems
do not and will not affect my life. It is to say that in my fight with them,
I want to use them to become stronger. (Bingham, 2009, p. 23)
There are a number of strategies Rosie used to enter the group of administrators at this level:
In addition to asking questions, I accepted my team and other administrators as full participants. I remained firm and clear about my position
and that of Student Affairs. I also made sure I had data to support my
observations and suggestions. What I found critical was to speak and
speak often. When a woman enters a group such as this, I believe she
must speak up because the group will interpret her silence as she does
not have anything to contribute to the discussion and may even think
that the woman is not fully competent. The group will then begin to
ignore the woman and devalue her contributions to the team. Women
must find their voice and speak. Part of the reason I continue to speak
up is to encourage my team and others to wonder What will Rosie
think about this? or What is the Student Affairs point of view? This

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is important because I advocate for the student point of view and I


encourage this perspective to be at the forefront of our decision making
whether I am in the room or not.
I work hard to attend all executive council meetingsto understand the
issues of the University, to be prepared and to offer critical and relevant opinions on all important issues; I see myself as responsible for
the entire university. I use humor to help build and sustain relationships
as well as relieve tension in uncomfortable situations. I also work hard
to understand the needs of my colleagues and will do whatever I can to
help them achieve success. I try to go the extra mile to express caring
and concern if I know of difficulties in their lives and/or the lives of their
family members. I guess I work to use a full range of expressionsfirm
and fierce to soft and gentle. I use anger sparingly and laughter a lot.
The questions about Rosies leadership in her new role as vice president
quickly changed once those unfamiliar faces got to know Rosie and her tremendous talent. Among the countless initiatives that Rosie has worked on in
student affairs over the past 7 years include: significantly growing the number
of living learning communities or theme-based residential hall communities
designed to bridge academic, personal, and professional development (living
learning communities have been shown nationally to have improved educational outcomes for students; Pasque & Murphy, 2005), significantly increasing revenue-generating ventures such as sponsoring a campus-wide housing
fair and identifying staff teams to apply for federal TRIO program grants
(which have been successful in securing nearly $4 million), and increasing
student input through activities such as monthly luncheon meetings with students. The universitys Conference Planning and Operations Department was
also moved under Student Affairs to become more profitable and is having
great success. One of Rosies favorite activities she worked on as Vice President
was establishing a scholarship in honor of her professional mentorthe
Donald K. Carson Leadership Scholarship. She and a group of internal and
external colleagues established the endowed scholarship. They were able to
raise $30,000 in several months, and today the endowment has grown to over
$100,000. Three students receive the award annually.
Among Rosies many leadership skills is the ability to reach across boundaries to find creative solutions to move forward. She uses this skill to create
positive changes on campus in terms of race relations and administration and
student relations. Two incidents in particular illustrate this point. Rosie intervened in an institutional misstep in handling a racial incident in 1995 as

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Assistant Vice President; she also was involved in thwarting potential campus
outrage after a similar incident occurred in 2006, when she was Vice President.
Both incidents involved interracial interactions between Blacks and Whites at
a White fraternity party in which White fraternity members used racial epithets
and both incidents resulted in student concern on campus. The misstep in
1995 mainly resulted from the minimization of the seriousness of name calling, lack of immediate action, and excluding multiple student voices in solving
the problem. The successful outcome of the 2006 incident was due in large part
because staff and administrators identified the problem as serious after hearing
about it, involved all groups on campus to assist in solving the problem, and
allowed the students to lead with support from the administrators.
Rosies training as a scientist-practitioner also contributes to her leadership
effectiveness; making data-driven and supported decisions has helped her to
grow important campus initiatives:
My training as a scientist-practitioner influences the way I approach
and think about my work, even now in my job as a vice president. One
of my mentors was the previous vice president and he loved a program
called the Emerging Leaders Scholarship Program. He was afraid the
university would cut the program when he left. When I came on board,
I was committed to saving the program. I began to gather the existing
retention and graduation data to determine if the program was effective. As we analyzed the data and compared it to other programs on
campus, we found that the rates for the Emerging Leaders Scholarship
Program were the best on campus. I was able to provide the president
and the provost data about the effectiveness of the program in increasing retention. At that time it was a small program. The program worked
with about 20 new students each year. The president and provost immediately told me that I could have 10 additional scholarship students each
year. [Rosie and her staff have been able to more than double the size
of the incoming class; the program has grown from having 80 total
students on the 4-year scholarship to a total of 200 students.] I am now
working with the university to increase the stipend for that scholarship,
which I think I am going to be successful doing because I showed them
the numbers. I believe in evidence-based practice. My staff and I have
encouraged the university to consider the anticipated student outcomes
from the various programs within student affairs; we want to move
beyond the numbers to capture the benefits we hope students will gain.
I also worked to restructure a program and a position to hire a Director
of Student Learning and Assessment.

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The Emerging Leader Scholarship Program is successful and continues to


thrive. To date, the first-year retention figures range from 88% to 98%, the
overall grade point average is consistently above 3.3, and nearly all of the
graduates of the program are employed in their chosen careers or are attending graduate school.

Making a Difference in (Counseling)


Psychology and in Her Community
Rosie demonstrated leadership skills very early on. As an undergraduate student she chaired the Association of Womens Students and co-chaired the
Black Student Union, and in graduate school, she helped create a new unit to
support student development at Ohio Dominican University. Rosie has always
believed she has an obligation to make a difference. It seems this value
serves as the impetus for her working to make things better in the environments
around her. Rosie has assumed leadership positions in a number of organizations, including serving as president of the Association of University College
and Counseling Centers. As part of these efforts, she has made a huge difference in counseling psychology and the broader discipline of psychology
through her various leadership roles (e.g., president of SCP, APA Council
Representative, APA Board of Directors), initiatives she has helped to create
(e.g., NMCS), and her historic bid for APA presidency. Below, Rosie discusses
her introduction to SCP and her leadership experiences within APA:
When I decided to be a part of Division 17, Rosemary Phelps and I
attended a meeting of the Ethnic Minority Committee. They were
involved in a heated discussion. They were so focused on what Division
17 was not providing. They did not take time to help those of us who
were really on the outside to try and be on the inside. Rosemary and I
later talked to Naomi Meara. Naomi was my supervisor at the very start
of my career, and she was going to be President of 17. She appointed us
to committees. And thus began my work in the Division.
Jan Birk was chair of the ethics committeeshe and I served together
on the ethics committee and she was running for President of 17. I think
because of her and because of this initial work that they nominated me
to run for Member at Large, and I lost. Jan let me know that I only lost by
a small number. The next time somebody asked me to run for Member
at Large, I agreed and won. While I was on the Executive Board, we

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changed to our current vice-presidency structure. I served as the first


Vice President for Diversity and Public Interest. Around this time the
Executive Board also implemented additional changes within Division 17,
and we dedicated a Council Seat for a minority person.
After two terms when I was rotating off of the Executive Board somebody asked me if I would run for President of 17. Initially I was not
interested in running for president, but I decided to run because I wanted
to help change the perception that people of color cannot be president.
When I won, I was so shocked that I didnt tell anybody for a week. I did
not expect to win. But then it became a seminal event for me because at
that time there was change in APA. Eight or nine people of color were
presidents of divisions. Melba Vasquez of Division 35 and Derald
Wing Sue of Division 45 were among those elected at the same time I
was elected.
Melba, Derald, and I had similar ideas about our leadership positions;
we wanted our presidencies to stand for something. The three of us and
Lisa Porch-Burke, who was the current President of 45 at that time,
had a conversation in DC about doing something meaningful. We discussed the idea of developing the National Multicultural Conference
and Summit [NMCS].
These four visionary psychologists developed an influential and important
multicultural psychology conference, bringing together scholars, practitioners,
and trainees from various subfields in psychology. The inaugural NMCS conference was held in Newport Beach, California, in 1999 and focused on the
mental health needs of marginalized groups in the United States. Although
the intent was not to create a long-standing conference, the first NMCS was
met with resounding success, so much so that a biennial conference was
established. Rosie again helped to convene Summit II, held in Santa
Barbara, California, in 2001. The goal of the second summit was to expand
and deepen the complexity of our understanding of human diversity to include
multiple forms of isms, power and oppression in treatment, research, and
practice. The conference is now sponsored by Divisions 17, 35, 44, and 45
and has grown exponentially over the last decade. Rosie served as a keynote speaker at the 2007 Summit and received a standing ovation for her inspirational speech. For more information about the founding of the NMCS and
the first two Summits, see Sue, Bingham, Porch-Burke, and Vasquez (1999)
and Bingham, Porch-Burke, James, Sue, and Vasquez (2002).

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After years of service to SCP and to APA as a counsel representative, Rosie


became aware of and was unsettled by the friction between scientists and
practitioners. At some point, a colleague encouraged her to run for the Board
of Directors of APA. She decided not to run for that position, but later had an
epiphany to run for president of APA:
I watched the 2006 Winter Olympics and was motivated to take action.
I wanted to challenge myself and go for the gold so to speak by running for president of APA. I was particularly interested in addressing the
scientist-practitioner split. At the 2006 February Council meeting, I
talked briefly with Ron Levant, who was past president at the time. He
informed me that it takes approximately $12,000 to run a competitive
presidential campaign. I was aware of what others had spent, but I did not
plan to spend that amount on my own campaign. He also reiterated that I
would be running against Alan Kazdin. I knew I had a slim chance of winning,
but it didnt matter to me. The point was to run and say my piece. Once
I started to campaign, so many people of color told me how important it
was that I ran. I realized after a while that it was much larger than I. You
never know how much people feel disenfranchised until you are out
there. And then it became important to me that I run the best campaign
I could. I ran to win. Even though I didnt have a chance, I still wanted
to do the very best I could. It was a good run.
In addition to using her skills to make a difference in the field of psychology, Rosie uses her leadership skills to better the larger community as well.
For example, in Memphis she helped to establish the Womens Foundation for
a Greater Memphis, for which she served on the board for 13 years. The goal
of the philanthropic foundation is to help girls and women reach their full
potential, including helping women reach economic sufficiency. In 2002, she
became Chair-elect and served in that role for 2 years, and then she became
Chair for 2 years. During her time in a leadership position:
We raised nearly a million dollars that year. We also worked on
the Hope Six Grants offered by HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development]. These grants provided funds to tear down old housing projects and rebuild them to provide better housing for people.
Memphis was awarded one of the grants. However, the city did not include
provisions for social services to assist the residents in the transition
process. The city needed an organization to step up and raise the money
for the social services component. The Womens Foundation accepted

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the challenge. We were charged with raising over $7 million over the
course of 7 years. While I was Chair we were able to help the city obtain
two $20 million grants.

Family and Faith: Pillars of Strength in Her Life


Rosies family and her faith are priorities in her life. She is happily married to
John Davis, whom she describes as a wonderful person. Rosie and John cherish their now adult son, Akil. Both of these relationships have been significant
in her life. Rosie nurtures these relationships by placing them above all else.
A symbolic gesture of this priority is her acceptance of calls from her son,
even if she is in an important meeting. This helps communicate to her son that
he is a priority and that he always has access to her. As a strong, independent,
but traditional career woman, she also finds ways to affirm and support her
husband:
There are things I learned from other women that have been useful to
me. Some of it has to do with how to have a good relationship with your
partner. Part of the secret is to understand the need that each person
brings to the relationship. For example, with me I have a really successful marriage and I think its because I have a great guy for a husband.
He is very supportive; he does all kind of work. I also try to understand
when he needs something and I try to give that to him.
Rosies faith also provides her with purpose and meaning. She described
two separate incidents highlighting the role of faith in her life:
The part of my life that is super-powerful, that its hard for people to
understand who are not believers in God, is the power of God in my life.
I had an experience when I was out jogging, struggling with some things
such as the tragedies on our campus, and I heard the voice of God say,
Go home and read Matthew the 28th chapter; it will say Lo, I am with
you always, even until the end of the world. Of course, I was afraid to
go home, because I am not a Bible scholar or anything like that. I ran
home, opened the Bible, and there it was. I will periodically have dramatic
experiences like that and they carry me a long way.
Another such incident occurred in 2002 after attending a training meeting
in San Francisco:

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As I was walking in the park the voice of God spoke to me and said
these things: Turn your depression to joy, your anxiety to excitement,
and your fear to faith. Since then I always apply those things. Initially, I
might say, OK, God, but what about my anger? [Laughter] But I could
never get past just those first three. These are guiding principles for me,
and so I never have a bad day. I havent had one since 2002.

Mentoring and Friendship: Coming Full Circle


Professionally, what really makes me happy is working with students.
The part of my job that I like best is being a cheerleader for students
talking with them and getting them excited about being in college and
their possibilities. I love that!
Rosie has always been committed to student development, as was evident
early in her career with her work at Ohio Dominican University, and she continues in her focus on student learning outcomes as an administrator. Rosie
works on behalf of students on a personal level, showing individual interest in
who they are as people and as students, and in her various professional positions, she implements institutional programs to support student development.
This commitment is also reflected in her interpersonal style and mentoring
approach with students, community members, and professionals alike. She
provides the same type of instrumental support she received in graduate
school. For example, similar to the way Bruce Walsh helped her prepare for
her qualifying examination, Rosie worked closely with a number of White
non-traditional women who returned to the University to retake their qualifying examinations; each of these women subsequently passed the examination.
Dr. Sandra Shullman, noted counseling psychologist and longtime friend from
graduate school, describes her style as follows:
Rosie epitomizes how to leverage the power of human potential through
positive approaches, inclusion, diversity, and empowerment. She knows
how to bring out the best in all others, and in so doing, we see, feel, and
embrace the strength, courage, and integrity of her convictions.
Rosies investment in others is seen in both her mentoring relationships and
friendships. Dr. Barbara Henley, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at the
University of Chicago and another longtime friend, summarizes the kind of
friend and mentor Rosie is to many:

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I have known Rosie for over 35 years as a friend, confidante, and colleague. She is highly intelligent, vibrant, witty, wise, thought-provoking,
introspective, analytical, genuine, and caring. It is these qualities that
have attracted so many mentees to Rosie. She continues to give generously of herself, her time, and her knowledge. As a mentor, many students and professionals have benefited immensely from their interactions
with her and have become better individuals and psychologists as a
result. Rosies impact is far-reaching and enduring. I am blessed to have
her as a true friend.
In celebration and recognition of her contributions to the development of
others, Rosie has received a number of awards, including the SCP Lifetime
Achievement in Mentoring award, the Division 45 Charles and Shirley Thomas
Award for mentoring and contributions to African American students and
community, and the Teachers College/Columbia University Janet E. Helms
Award for Mentoring and Scholarship.

Moving Beyond Failure, Embracing Success:


Words of Wisdom to Emerging Professionals
Starting from humble beginnings, Rosie has become a strong, independent,
and confident psychologist and leader. Her story is one of hard work, integrity,
and persistence, and thus, it is no surprise that the advice she offers to graduate students and new professionals is to be tenacious and to not give up when
things dont go as you planned. That is because I think about how I became
a fellow and how I got my diplomate in psychology. After not receiving
fellow status in Division 17, Rosie worked with a team to put together a strong
package extolling her strengths and contributions:
Some people get discouraged after being turned down for something
they applied for or tried for; I was turned down for fellow of Division
17 more than once. I also applied for diplomate status more than once.
In the application materials, it stated that applicants should identify a
mentor to assist in the process. But I did not do that. I thought I could
figure out the application process myself. I was turned down on my first
try. I then decided to seek out help. I found some very critical people
who were already diplomates who might be able to give me constructive feedback. I opened up my work to them so they could tell me where
my weaknesses were and what I needed to do differently. The application required candidates to demonstrate their therapeutic approach. I
was asked to provide a transcribed therapy session that best represented

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my theoretical orientation. I was eclectic; I still am for that matter. One


of the people who I asked to help evaluate my work told me that I would
never pass the process if I claimed I was eclectic. He encouraged me to
pick another orientation. I decided to stick with my eclectic orientation
description. I believed that I shouldnt have the diplomate status if I
couldnt pass the examination based on what I do. At the end of the
process, the examiners told me that my application was one of the best
they had seen.
It was very nice because I was able to remain true to myself. But the
lesson in that for me was to be tenacious if you want to get something
and to not let failures define you. Some people will look at those of
us who have lived longer and have accomplishments and think, Wow,
I cant do that. And the fact of the matter is that sometimes the journey
is not a smooth straight path. There are deviations, and bumps, and
what not. It is important to know that the road has not been easy for
anyone. Failure is never forever; you can always turn that around.
And most importantly, you can succeed through hard work, faith, and
persistence!
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Acknowledgments
The author thanks Sundiata K. Cha-Jua for his historical consultation, Amanda Long
and Valene A. Whitaker for transcribing the interviews, Meta C. Laab for helpful comments on an earlier draft, and Rosie Bingham Phillips for sharing her life story and for
her support throughout the writing process.

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Bio
Helen A. Neville is a professor in educational psychology and African American studies
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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