Helen A. Neville

Helen A. Neville is a distinguished Professor of Educational Psychology and African American Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, with additional appointments in Psychology, Gender and Women's Studies, African American Studies, and the Center for African Studies. She will assume the role of Department Chair for Educational Psychology beginning August 16, 2025, and currently serves as president-elect of the Society for the Psychological Study of Culture, Ethnicity, and Race (Division 45 of the American Psychological Association). Her scholarly leadership includes participation in the CIC/Big 10 Academic Alliance Academic Leadership Academy and service as a Provost Fellow.

Dr. Neville's research centers on race, racism, racial identity, and color-blind racial ideology, with a specific focus on Black racial identity development. Her work examines how racial ideology affects well-being, mental health, and social justice outcomes, particularly within communities of color. She has developed frameworks for understanding color-blind racial ideology as consisting of two interrelated domains: color-evasion (denial of racial differences) and power-evasion (denial of racism). Her scholarship bridges psychological theory with practical applications for social justice and healing.

Her extensive publication record demonstrates a clear trend toward decolonial and liberation psychology, with recent work focusing on radical healing frameworks, racial literacy education, and systemic transformation within psychology and related fields. Neville's research increasingly emphasizes community-based approaches to healing from racism and has expanded to address intersections with other forms of oppression. Her methodological approach combines quantitative scale development with qualitative exploration of lived experiences, particularly among Black communities.

• APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest (Senior Career), 2023
• Fulbright Scholar Award, 2015
• ABPsi Distinguished Psychologist of the Year Award, 2011
• APA Division 45 Charles and Shirley Thomas Award for mentoring
• Winter Roundtable Janet E. Helms Mentoring Award

Dr. Neville is renowned for her transformative mentoring approach, integrating social justice, Black feminist theory, and radical healing frameworks. She has co-edited five books and authored nearly 90 journal articles and book chapters. Her editorial leadership includes serving as Associate Editor for The Counseling Psychologist and the Journal of Black Psychology, and she currently serves on multiple scholarly journal boards. As lead editor of the Handbook of African American Psychology, she has significantly shaped the field's scholarly direction.

Her academic leadership extends to directing the Public Psychology for Liberation Training Model initiative, which calls for transforming psychological disciplines through community engagement and social justice commitments. Dr. Neville's work bridges academic scholarship with community action, particularly through her research on racial literacy education programs and community resilience models.