• March 9, 2007

  Loreto Prieto named Iowa State Latino/a Studies director

• Loreto R. Prieto, professor of counseling psychology at the University of Akron, has been named the director of the U.S. Latino/a Studies Program in Iowa State University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
  
  Prieto will also be a professor in the Department of Psychology. His appointment is effective Aug. 16, 2007.
  
  Prieto is a member of the National Latino/a Psychological Association. He is also a Fellow of the American Psychological Association in both teaching of psychology and counseling psychology.
  
  Within the American Psychological Association, Prieto has been a leader in the multicultural competencies movement. These efforts resulted in the association adopting a stringent set of training standards and professional competencies to ensure that psychologists are appropriately trained and able to provide high quality services to underrepresented populations.
  
  Prieto has published and presented over 100 professional works, many focusing on issues of cultural diversity in psychology. He is an author on a chapter on cultural competency in The Handbook of Chicana and Chicano Psychology and of a Major Contribution concerning Chicano/a psychology in the journal The Counseling Psychologist. He is also a co-editor of the upcoming text Best Practices for Incorporating Culture into the Curriculum.
  
  As a second generation Mexican American from the Quad Cities area, Prieto's vision for the Latino/a Studies program is informed by an insider's knowledge of both Midwestern Latino/a issues and Iowa culture.
  
  "I believe it is important to remain mindful of the fact that the Latino/a population settled in the Midwest area is unique in its worldview and collective experiences as compared with the clusters of Latino/as in Texas, California, New York or Florida regions; therefore, it is important to examine and address our community's needs with respect to environmental and historical relevance to Iowan Latino/as," he said.
  
  His primary goal is to build on the existing strengths of the program and further develop and enhance a strong sense of community for Latino/a faculty and students on campus.
  
  "The resulting energy and support among people with shared goals will be the foundation and lifeblood of the program as it addresses the educational, vocational, social, political, and other needs of the broader Latino/a community," he said.
  
  Outside of Latino/a Studies, Prieto's research interests fall within the broad domain of clinical training, specifically in the areas of psychology testing and assessment and multicultural psychology, with a focus on Chicano/as.
  
  "I also have an interest in how students develop as psychology educators and I conduct research in the area of teaching assistant training and supervision," Prieto said. He is the co-editor of the text Teaching Assistant Training Handbook: How To Prepare TAs For Their Responsibilities.
  
  In addition to his appointment the University of Akron, Prieto has also been on the faculties of Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine, the University of New Hampshire, the University of Oklahoma and
  the University of Iowa.
  
  Iowa State's U.S. Latino/a Studies Program is an academic unit in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The program currently offers an interdisciplinary minor and is one of four ethnic studies program in the Center for American Intercultural Studies. The director will play a central role in the development of an interdisciplinary studies major in American intercultural studies.

Loreto R. Prieto