Rate My Professor Adrienne Carter-Sowell

Adrienne R. Carter-Sowell is a Full Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Oklahoma, where she joined in July 2021. She serves as the Academic Director for the First Year Experience Unit in the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences and as Course Coordinator for Ethical and Intercultural Leadership (CAS 1543). As a faculty member in both the Social Psychology and Industrial-Organizational Psychology programs, she is also an affiliated faculty member with the Center for Applied Social Research. Prior to OU, she held several roles at Texas A&M University, including Associate Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences (September 2020–June 2021), Associate Professor jointly appointed in Psychological and Brain Sciences and Africana Studies (August 2017–June 2021), and Assistant Professor in the same departments (August 2010–August 2017). She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Social Psychology from Purdue University and her B.A. in Sociology and Rhetoric/Communications Studies from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Carter-Sowell's research in social and industrial-organizational psychology focuses on the costs of professional and social invisibility, ostracism experiences, and fostering belonging, particularly for underrepresented groups in STEM academia. She has served as Co-PI on multiple National Science Foundation grants, including the Texas A&M System AGEP Alliance (NSF #1723255, 2017–2024), Honor as Goal Pursuit: A Cross-Cultural Investigation (NSF #1451540, 2019–2020), and Advancing interdisciplinary STEM graduate education (NSF #1308144, 2013–2019). Key publications include "Ostracism Increases Social Susceptibility" (2008), "Validation of the Ostracism Experience Scale for Adolescents" (2013), "'I'm Out of the Loop': Ostracism Through Information Exclusion" (2009), "The Future of Women in Psychological Science" (2021), and "The Psychological Sting of Stigma: The Costs of Attributing Ostracism to Racism" (2010). She holds Fellow status in the Association for Psychological Science (2022), Society of Experimental Social Psychology, and American Psychological Association Divisions 2, 8, 9, 35, and 45. Major awards include the Innovative Teaching Award from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (2022), Big 12 Conference Faculty Fellowship (2021–2022), Jenessa Shapiro Award for Faculty Contributions to Diversity and Inclusion (2021), and Carolyn Payton Early Career Publication Award (2016). Dr. Carter-Sowell leads the Gateway to Belonging program, trains scholars at all levels, and contributes to documentary projects on belonging.