Ellen McWhirter
Biography
Ellen Hawley McWhirter is the Ann Swindells Professor in Counseling Psychology and Director of the Spanish Language Psychological Services and Research Specialization. Her scholarly interests broadly include the educational and vocational development and well-being of young people and particularly those who face disproportionate systemic and structural barriers. Current projects are focused on Latinx adolescents and factors that influence their postsecondary plans and school engagement, including critical consciousness, experiences of discrimination, and documentation status. Her research and scholarship in vocational psychology have been recognized by national awards including the Fritz and Lynn Kuder Early Career Scientist-Practitioner award (2001), the Outstanding Major Contribution Award (2005; The Counseling Psychologist), the John Holland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career or Personality Research (2008), and the Distinguished Achievement Award (2015). She is a Fellow of the Society for Counseling Psychology and Fulbright Scholar (Chile, 2004).
She typically takes new doctoral advisees each year.
Education
Ph.D., 1992, Arizona State University
Majors: Counseling Psychology
M. C. ,1988, Arizona State University
Majors: Counseling
B. A., 1983, University of Notre Dame
Majors: Psychology
Honors and Awards
2019 Excellence Award for Outstanding Mentorship in Graduate Studies, Graduate School, University of Oregon
2018 Martin Luther King Jr. Institutional Transformation Award, UO Dreamers Working Group, University of Oregon
2016 Martin Luther King Jr. Award, University of Oregon
2015 Distinguished Achievement Award, Society for Vocational Psychology
2013 Ann Swindells Professorship in Counseling Psychology
2012 Faculty Excellence Award, University of Oregon
2010 Fellow, Society for Counseling Psychology, American Psychological Association
2009 Oregon Community Credit Union Research Fellow, Eugene, OR.
2008 John Holland Award for Outstanding Achievement in Career or Personality Research, Society for Counseling Psychology, APA.
2008 Psychologist of the Year Award, Lane County Psychologists’ Association, Co-recipient with B.T. McWhirter, Lane County, Oregon.
2007 Co-recipient with program: American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Department of the Year Award.
2005 Outstanding Major Contribution Award, Society for Counseling Psychology and The Counseling Psychologist, with co-authors David Blustein and Justin Perry.
2004 Fulbright Scholar Award to Chile, United States Fulbright Commission and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State.
2001 Fritz and Linn Kuder Early Career Scientist/Practitioner Award, Division 17, American Psychological Association.
1995 American Counseling Association ‘Ohana’ Honors Award for significant contributions to the profession in the areas of diversity and multicultural counseling.
1991 American Association of University Women American Fellow: Dissertation Research Award, Washington, D.C.
Publications
McWhirter, E.H., & McWha-Hermann, I. (accepted). Social justice and career development: Progress, problems, and possibilities. Journal of Vocational Behavior.
McWhirter, E.H., & Cinamon, R.G. (2020). Old problem, new perspective: Applying Anzaldúan concepts to underrepresentation in STEM. Journal of Career Development. Online first https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845320901797.
Garcia, E.A., McWhirter, E.H., & Cendejas, C. (2020). Outcomes of Career Information Systems utilization among first year high school students. Journal of Career Development. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845319890930.
McWhirter, E.H., Rojas-Araúz, B.O., Ortega, R., Combs, D., Cendejas, C., & McWhirter, B.T. (2019). ALAS: An intervention to promote career development among Latina/o immigrant high school students. Journal of Career Development. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/089484531982854
McWhirter, E.H., Gomez, D., & Rau, E.R. (2019). “Never give up. Fight for what you believe in”: Perceptions of how Latina/o adolescents think they can make a difference. Cultural Diversity and Ethnic Minority Psychology, 25(3), 403-412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000254
McWhirter, E.H., Garcia, E.A., & Bines, D. (2018). Discrimination and other education barriers, school connectedness, and thoughts of dropping out among Latina/o students. Journal of Career Development, 45(4), 330-344. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894845317696807
Diemer, M.A., Rapa, L.J., Voight, A.M., & McWhirter, E.H. (2016). Critical consciousness: A developmental approach to addressing marginalization and oppression. Child Development Perspectives, 10(4), 216-221. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12193
McWhirter, E.H., & McWhirter, B. T. (2016). Developing a measure of Latina/o adolescent critical consciousness. Journal of Career Assessment, 24(3), 543-558. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1069072715599535
Luginbuhl, P.J., McWhirter, E. H., & McWhirter, B. T. (2016). Sociopolitical development, autonomous motivation, and education outcomes among low income Latina/o adolescents. Journal of Latina/o Psychology, 4(1), 43-59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/lat0000041
Diemer, M., McWhirter, E.H., Ozer, E.J., & Rapa, L. (2015). Advances in the conceptualization and measurement of critical consciousness. The Urban Review, 47(5), 809-823. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1069072715599535