This summer, Dr. Barry Hong ’67, an advisory member of Concordia’s Board of Regents and recipient of Concordia’s Distinguished Alumnus Award, will add a pair of important honors to a career marked by meaningful accomplishments.
The American Board of Professional Psychology (ABPP) is giving Dr. Hong its Award for Distinguished Service to the Profession. The award is reserved for certified specialists. Board-certified in clinical psychology, Dr. Hong is among the small percentage of licensed psychologists who are board-certified, and an ABPP diploma is the highest clinical credential in psychological practice.
The second award is from the American Psychological Association (APA) for Distinguished Service to Institutional Practice. The citation from the APA reads, "Barry A. Hong has promoted psychologists’ status in academic health care, which has advanced psychologists’ roles universally. As chief psychologist for Washington University’s Barnes–Jewish Hospital, he champions psychologists’ roles, collaborates broadly with clinical and research professionals, and mentors psychologists. He created a liaison role for the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers to the Council of Academic Societies of the Association of American Medical Colleges, the nation’s premier academic health care organization. Hong is an active clinician and researcher who has been a leader in multiple professional societies and served on the APA Commission on Accreditation."
Professor of Psychiatry, Internal Medicine and Psychology at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and chief psychologist for Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dr. Hong’s contributions to his profession are numerous.
As part of the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) Revision Committee, Dr. Hong was instrumental in effecting a historic change in the latest version of the MCAT, putting psychology’s role on a par with other sciences including biology and chemistry. The exam, which had not been revised since 1991, now evaluates knowledge and skills across a diverse set of areas with an added emphasis on psychology, behavioral science, statistics and research design, integrating all areas that influence health and illness-behavior. The change has made a significant impact on pre-med and medical school curricula.
What Dr. Hong calls “the most important professional thing I have done without exception,” however, is his work as Research Scientist on the Program Team for the National Living Donor Assistance Center (NLDAC). NLDAC’s mission is to reduce the financial disincentives to living organ donation. Many people would like to donate an organ to a family member or friend, but would have trouble paying for related expenses that are not covered by insurance. NLDAC operates a nationwide system that provides reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses to people being evaluated for and/or undergoing living organ donation, and to date has helped facilitate more than 5,000 living kidney donations.
Acknowledging the importance of these awards in American psychology, Dr. Hong said, “It is quite a journey for a Concordia Bronxville grad and the son of an immigrant from Canton China, who did not speak or write a word of English before he entered the USA.”
In his time at Concordia, the College’s student body looked very different than today, something Dr. Hong acknowledged in his speech to Concordia’s graduating class of 2018. “This is a better and stronger school than the one I attended in the 1960s. As I look out at the graduates, they are a more diverse student body than the one that I knew…In many ways the college has become a gateway institution to the American Dream, helping first generation college students, students from immigrant families and students from disadvantaged families to achieve these aspirations.”
Dr. Hong’s accomplishments show the enormous impact that gateway institutions like Concordia College New York can have on the world.
Barry A. Hong ’67, M.Div., Ph.D., ABPP
Dr. Barry Hong is a Professor of Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Medicine and in the Department of Psychology. He is the Vice-Chairman for Clinical Affairs in Psychiatry and the Chief Psychologist for Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Dr. Hong has been a consultant with the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS) and the Division of Transplantation (HRSA). Presently, he is working with the National Living Donor Assistance Program (NLDAC), a federally sponsored project which has facilitated over 5,000 living kidney transplants. Dr. Hong has his Ph.D. from Saint Louis University and is a Diplomate in Clinical Psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology. He has been active throughout his career in the governance and leadership of the American Psychological Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Society for Clinical Psychology and the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers. He is a 1965 graduate of the Prep School and 1967 graduate of Concordia College New York. He went on to Concordia Senior College to complete his pre-seminary training in 1969 and graduated with an M.Div. degree in 1972. He was ordained into the ministry in 1972 at Our Savior Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Kansas City, Kansas. Dr. Hong lives in St. Louis with his wife, Dr. Faith Scofield, a retired school psychologist with a Ph.D. from the University of Kansas. Dr. Hong has three adult daughters and Dr. Scofield has an adult son. Together, they have six granddaughters and one grandson.