On February 3, 2017, Frank B. Wilderson, Jr., Ph.D., LP, was recognized as the 2017 recipient of the John M. Taborn Award for Outstanding Contributions as a Mental Health Provider of African Descent.  A reception was held in his honor at the Metropolitan State University Founders Hall in St. Paul. 

Dr. Wilderson is a professor emeritus in the Department of Educational Psychology and co-director of the Center for Research on Correctional Education.  He received his B.A. in education from Xavier University in Louisiana and his M.A. and Ph.D. in child development and educational psychology from the University of Michigan.  He is now retired after 39 years at the University of Minnesota where he held multiple positions. He was a faculty member, becoming the first chair of the Department of African-American Studies; he was an Assistant Dean; and he was the first African American among the University’s vice presidents, serving for 14 years in that role. 

Dr Wilderson has been called a role model for those seeking leadership on multicultural issues, and his many career achievements speak to this. He was a founding member of the Association of Black Psychologists, and he worked as a consultant for Big Brother Big Sisters, Turning Point, and Twin Cities Rise.

Congratulations, Dr. Wilderson!

Dr. Frank B. Wilderson, Jr.

From the left, Frank B. Wilderson, Jr., BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya and Zach White

Members of the MPA Diversity Committee with Dr. Wilderson. From the left, Linda Muldoon, Harriett
Haynes, Willie Garrett, Frank B. Wilderson, Jr., BraVada Garrett-Akinsanya, Susan Rydell.  Back
row: Bruce Bobbitt (MPA President-Elect) and Zach White (Co-Chair of the Diversity Committee).