MTSU Department of Psychology
Middle Tennessee Psychological Association Conference
Middle Tennessee Psychological Association
Spring 2025 Meeting
April 26, 2025
Middle Tennessee State University will be hosting the Middle Tennessee Psychological Association’s 2025 spring meeting. The meeting provides an excellent opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to present their research projects.
Schedule
Note: All times listed are for the U.S. central time zone.
The live event will be in the College of Education Building (COE) on MTSU’s campus (campus map)
COE Room 160
How do universities communicate their support for LGBTQ+ students, faculty, and staff—and how often is that support genuine? In this keynote, Dr. Ruthie Walker will share research from the BESTEST Lab examining LGBTQ+ friendliness at public universities across the U.S. Using a mix of social media analysis, policy reviews, and a faculty workplace survey, Dr. Walker and her students have investigated how institutions engage with LGBTQ+ communities and whether their public messaging aligns with real-world policies and protections. She will discuss the key findings from multiple studies, including gaps between performative allyship and meaningful action, trends in university social media engagement, and the challenges LGBTQ+ faculty and staff face in higher education. Dr. Walker will provide practical takeaways for educators, administrators, and advocates who want to move beyond surface-level inclusion efforts and create lasting, tangible support for LGBTQ+ individuals in higher education, while also discussing how researchers can translate their findings into accessible, real-world tools that inform and empower the communities they study.
Dr. Ruth Walker (she/her)
Dr. Ruth Walker is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, where she directs the BESTEST Lab. Her research broadly examines social inequalities across the lifespan, with publications focused on sexual assault in young women, impact of bias toward transgender and gender diverse people, the intersection of ageism and sexism, as well as the assessment of innovative teaching practices in psychology. Dr. Walker’s current research agenda is shaped by her students’ interests, and she works to foster a collaborative environment where undergraduate and graduate researchers investigate pressing social issues. She is also the creator of the Careers in Psychology website, a comprehensive resource designed to support psychology majors in career exploration and professional development. In addition to her research and mentorship, Dr. Walker is a sought-after qualitative research consultant, advising on research design, data analysis, and applied methodologies for research institutes. She has also published multiple open educational resource (OER) textbooks to help make statistical analyses accessible to psychology students.
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