Sue, Derald Wing (1942-)

Early Years

Sue was born in Portland, Oregon, the second oldest of five brothers and one sister. His father, who emigrated from China around the age of 13, and his Chinese American mother never received formal education beyond third grade. His father's pride in his cultural heritage and his mother's hard work in raising six children and working at various jobs shaped Sue's early years. Society's prejudice, discrimination, and racism toward him and his racial, ethnic identity also left their imprint on his early years. His family experienced financial hardships, and all the family members worked to contribute to the family budget. His parents emphasized the importance of a strong work ethic and the power of education, and all Sue children eventually received degrees from institutions of higher education. Sue's initial experiences with racism and discrimination came through institutions of formal education and the attitudes of childhood peers. His grade school teacher scolded him for speaking Chinese with his brother, the high school guidance counselor discouraged him from pursuing a career in social science because Asian Americans lacked social skills, and his peers teased him about the way he looked. These experiences eventually fueled his passion to understand the effects of racism and seek system-level change. Sue was also able to challenge his own attitude regarding his ethnic and racial identity, free himself from the limitations set by the society, and pursue a challenging yet successful career in psychology.

Early Career Years

At a time when multicultural issues and racial equality were rarely, if at all, discussed, Sue was a true pioneer in bringing such issues to the attention of counseling psychologists. After obtaining his bachelor's degree from Oregon State University, and his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Oregon, Sue worked as a counselor at the University of California at Berkeley's counseling center. He became known as the counselor who supported and helped Asian American students. During his years at Berkeley, he conducted studies on the mental health of Asian Americans. Inspired by his early work and research with Asian Americans, he coauthored the books A Theory of Multicultural Counseling and Therapy and Understanding Abnormal Behavior. Realizing his skill and joy in teaching, writing, and research, Sue transitioned into a tenure-track academic position at California State University at Hayward. He developed and taught the first multicultural counseling course and received the Outstanding Professor award in 1973.

...