Biology

Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Shoenfelt, University Distinguished Professor Emerita in the WKU Department of Psychological Sciences, began her role as the 2023-2024 President of the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP) at the AASP Annual Conference in October. AASP is the premier professional association for sport, exercise, and performance (SEP) psychology and has over 3,000 members from more than 50 countries.

As an organizational psychologist, Shoenfelt’s presidency will focus on AASP’s organizational health, an inward facing focus of self-care. Primary presidential initiatives include establishing the AASP Foundation Endowment to ensure the ability to support and recognize outstanding AASP scientist-practitioners now and in the future; developing and implementing the AASP Civility and Anti-Harassment Policy to help to ensure a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for all participants in all AASP activities; and embracing opportunities for continuous, life-long learning and valuing the scientific basis for applied SEP psychology practice.

Shoenfelt directed the WKU Industrial-Organizational (I-O) Psychology graduate program for nearly three decades and established its national reputation as one of the Top 10 I-O master’s programs in the country. She has served as a performance consultant for the US Army, Army ROTC, police, firefighters, and business organizations, working with C-suite leaders from small businesses to Fortune 50 organizations. Her sustained work with athletic teams includes work with WKU Women’s Basketball Teams (1983 to 1997), with appearances in three NCAA Final Fours and one National Championship; and WKU Volleyball Teams (2002 to 2023), amassing 32 Regular Season and Tournament Conference Championships and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances, advancing to the Sweet 16. Her notable work with individual athletes includes WKU Olympic medalists swimmer Claire Donahue White (USA gold, 2012) and WKU softball player Larissa Franklin (Canadian bronze, 2021).

Shoenfelt is a Licensed Industrial-Organizational Psychologist; Fellow, American Psychological Association (APA); Fellow and Ombuds, Society for Industrial-Organizational Psychology (SIOP); Fellow, and Certified Mental Performance Consultant, AASP; and a USOPC Sport Psychology Registry member. She served as the Senior Director of Applied Psychology at APA from 2020-2021.