Claude M. Steele, Ph.D.

Claude M. Steele, Ph.D. (FAN ’14), is a social psychologist and the Lucie Stern Professor in the Social Sciences, Emeritus, at Stanford University. The author of Whistling Vivaldi: How Stereotypes Affect Us and What We Can Do, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. He is best known for his work on stereotype threat and its application to minority student academic performance. His earlier work dealt with research on the self (e.g., self-image, self- affirmation) as well as the role of self-regulation in addictive behaviors.

He currently serves as a trustee of the Russell Sage Foundation and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and as a Fellow for both the American Institutes for Research and the American Academy of Political and Social Science.

Steele has served in several major academic leadership positions as the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost at UC Berkeley, the I. James Quillen Dean for the School of Education at Stanford University, and as the 21st Provost of Columbia University. Past roles also include serving as the President of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, as the President of the Western Psychological Association, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Psychological Society.

Steele earned a B.A. in psychology from Hiram College, an M.A. in social psychology from Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in social psychology and statistical psychology from Ohio State University. He holds honorary doctorates from Yale University, Northwestern University, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, DePaul University, and Claremont Graduate University.