American Born and Educated Scholar Is the First Black Woman Professor at University in the U.K.

Jessica Jones Nielsen has been promoted to professor of psychology at City St. George’s, University of London. Her appointment makes her the institution’s first Black woman full professor.

Dr. Nielsen joined the faculty at what is now City St. George’s, University of London in 2013 as a lecturer in psychology. She was promoted to senior lecturer in 2014 and again to reader (an academic rank similar to associate professor) in 2021. That same year, she was appointed to her current administrative role as the university’s assistant vice president for equality, diversity, and inclusion.

Prior to joining the City St. George’s, University of London community, Dr. Nielsen was a research associate with the department of primary care and public health at Imperial College London for two years. Since 2020, she has held an honorary appointment with the college as a senior research fellow. Earlier, she was a psychology resident fellow at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

With over two decades of experience as a psychologist and educator, Dr. Nielsen is an expert on issues of power in workplace and healthcare settings and how discrimination affects mental and physical health outcomes. She is a charted member of the British Psychological Society, a registered psychologist with the Health & Care Professions Council, and a fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

Dr. Nielsen is a three-time graduate of the University of Florida, where she earned her bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, and Ph.D. in counseling psychology.

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