APA's Distinguished Scholar Lectures for Teaching
and Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecture

Annually, the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, in collaboration with the Education Directorate of APA, sponsors the APA Distinguished Scholar Lectures for Teaching and the Harry Kirke Wolf Lecture. These are premier lectures first delivered as APA webinars, then as presentations as regional conferences, by teachers of psychology, to teachers of psychology. In these talks, renown experts deliver cutting-edge talks designed specifically for other teachers of psychology. 

Nominations

Nominations for the APA Distinguished Scholar Lecture for Teaching and the Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecture are accepted year-round. Nominations may be submitted any time via email to lecture-selection@teachpsych.org (Chair, Lecture Selection Committee). Please include (1) Name and affiliation of the nominee, and (2) Reason for nomination.

A Brief History of the APA's Distinguished Scholar Lecture for Teaching Series and the Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecture

These lectures were originally conceived of by APA's Committee on Undergraduate Education as a way to help introductory level teachers develop a coherent picture of recent developments in the wide range of different psychological subdisciplines they may cover (Benjamin, 1981). After successful inauguration of the lectures, APA broadened their scope in 1987 to include the teaching of psychology at any level.

The original name was the G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series.  STP's Executive Committee petitioned the APA Education Directorate in 2022 to change the name of the lectures to no longer honor G. Stanley Hall, whose research and public writings were inconsistent with STP's Statement on Addressing Systemic Racism and Inequity in STP (e.g., refer to the 1904 section in the historical chronology of psychology's contributions to the perpetuation of racial inequality). The APA Education Directorate agreed to change the name to the APA Distinguished Scholar Lecture for Teaching.  

The Harry Kirke Wolfe Lecture began in 1990, when the lecture series was expanded to include a talk about the teaching of teaching, by a scholar of the teaching of psychology. In the Harry Kirke Wolfe lecture, a renowned expert delivers a talk on an important topic in the scholarship of teaching and learning. 

Beginning in 2026, the venue for these lectures was moved from presentations at the APA Convention to APA Webinars to increase access. In the year following their presentation as webinars, the lecturers are invited to present a second time at one of the STP programs at a regional psychology conference.

A list of past speakers can be seen here and here.

Reference

Benjamin, L. T., Jr. (1981). Preface. In L. T. Benjamin, Jr. (Ed.), G. Stanley Hall Lecture Series (Vol. 1, pp. 1-6). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Lecture Selection Committee Members

The Lecture Selection Committee includes the chair, each of the STP regional conference liaisons/coordinators, director of regional programming, directors of the STP program at APA, APS, NITOP, SPSP, international conferences, and ACT.

For more information, contact:

Madeline Bruce, Chair, Lecture Selection Committee

Email: lecture-selection@teachpsych.org