Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Shoenfelt, University Emeritus Professor Emeritus in the Department of Psychological Sciences at WKU, has been named a Fellow of the American Psychological Association (APA).
Fellowship is an honor granted to members of the APA who have demonstrated unusual and outstanding contributions or performance in the field of psychology and whose work has had a national impact on the field of psychology beyond at a local, state or regional level.
Shoenfelt achieved prominence in industrial and organizational psychology (IO) as well as sports psychology, being named a Fellow by the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP).
Shoenfelt led the psychology graduate program at WKU IO for three decades and established its national reputation as one of the top 10 programs in the country.
SIOP recognized Shoenfelt’s leadership in higher education with the SIOP Lifetime Achievement Award, Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award, and invited her to oversee two final volumes of the Professional Practice Series. SIOP on the training and careers of IO teachers. Within the AASP, she is recognized for her innovative applications in practice, including her work with WKU volleyball, WKU women’s basketball, and WKU Olympic medalists Claire Donahue and Larissa Franklin.
Shoenfelt was elected to the first AASP Certification Council where she led the development of the national certification exam for the Certified Mental Performance Consultant® (CMPC®) designation. In 2022, she became one of the first two SIOP Ombudspersons, appointed because of her experience and expertise in EEO law, social justice and organizational fairness.
