Dynamic, Long-lasting,
Collaborative – the 2004 DLC
The 2004 Division Leadership Conference (DLC) kicked off on Friday,
January 30th at 6 P.M. with its Welcome Reception and Dinner. Friends,
colleagues and newcomers mingled, acquainted and reacquainted themselves
with other divisions’ leadership, members from the Board of
Directors, Committee on Division/APA Relations (CODAPAR), as well
as APA staff. Ilene Serlin, PhD, CODAPAR Chair, opened the meeting
by formally greeting everyone and extending a warm welcome to all
of the participants. Dr. Serlin introduced each member of CODAPAR,
acknowledged the Board of Directors, encouraged everyone to use
this opportunity to network, ask questions and gather as much information
as possible that will help make their term in office a success.
The conference officially commenced Saturday morning with APA President
Diane Halpern, PhD, giving the welcome address. Because of her interests
and involvement in divisions, Dr. Halpern felt it was a privilege
to speak to such an important group of individuals. Her dedication
to divisions is longstanding and she understands the obstacles divisions
face such as aging/retiring members and recruiting/retaining early
career professionals. Dr. Halpern underscored the importance of
addressing these issues and challenged everyone in the room to join
her in making a commitment by way of a pledge:
“I, Diane Halpern, promise to reach out to Psychologists
who are not actively involved in division activities, especially
early career professionals, ethnic minorities and everyone else
who offers good ideas, invigorates our field or is just plain
fun.”
Dr. Halpern also talked about her 2004 Presidential Initiatives,
which include:
- The changing demographic of the U.S. workforce: Dr. Halpern
intends to look at issues of public policy, employment and working
families and create a political database for informing public
policy. She mentioned affordable childcare and its affect on the
workforce as an important concern that psychology can inform.
- Retiring psychologists: Dr. Halpern said that we are the “young
old” moving into retirement. Her initiative will develop
materials for retiring psychologists (i.e., winding down a practice,
financial issues, mentoring roles).
- International issues: Working on translating materials on prejudice
into multiple languages.
Dr. Halpern invited and encouraged divisions that have an interest
in any of these issues to contact her and become active in her Presidential
Initiatives.
“APA 101” was the first plenary session of the DLC.
This session focused on some of the core areas of APA such as finance,
legal and membership issues.
Greg Wickwar, APA Controller, presented information on the financial
aspects of APA, its rules and regulations and how they effect divisions.
Wickwar’s presentation focused on the increased attention
to all financial dealings due to recent high-profile corporate scandals
in the media. APA has made a number of accounting changes based
on the passage of the Sarbannes-Oxley Act of 2002. Sarbannes-Oxley
prescribes tighter restrictions and now requires increased detail
and paperwork to ensure ethical accounting practices.
Pat Miyamoto, Senior Director of Membership presented a report
on membership and its trends. Even though the APA membership continues
to grow, there is a decline in multiple division participation.
New members and those within their first 5 years of membership are
less likely to remain as members. Mr. Miyamoto stressed that having
personal contact with new members is an important factor in retaining
these memberships. He offered to provide lists to those divisions
that are interested in contacting resigned members.
Nathalie Gilfolye, APA General Counsel, briefly touched upon some
primary legal issues around APA and divisions by stating, “Divisions
are APA and APA is Divisions”. Division leaders were encouraged
to take the time to familiarize themselves with APA bylaws, rules
and policies; especially the policies on division activities, contract
review, public statements and amicus brief participation.
Ms. Gilfoyle reminded the division leaders that it was their responsibility
to supervise their chapters and sections and that a division must
obtain a member’s consent before putting their personal information
in print or online; referencing an article that she did on the legal
risks of listserv activity and the new rules on guidelines and standards
that apply to all parts of APA.
Finally, she talked about APA’s favorable tax status as a
501(c) 3 organization. She stated that divisions can jeopardize
APA’s tax status by their activities and that they should
avoid commercial activities, electioneering and endorsement of candidates
for office (including no fundraising, listserv discussion or contributions
made to support political activities).
All three presenters welcomed and strongly encouraged divisions
to contact them if they had any questions or concerns.
After the plenary session, participants were given the opportunity
to chat with “APA 101” presenters and to network with
other division leaders.
The next segment of the DLC program went into the first of the
two morning breakout sessions. Each breakout had a variety of five
different sessions that ranged from basic information on leading
a division to the basic infrastructure of APA to dealing with issues
concerning the science of Psychology. After lunch, the program picked
up with the third and fourth breakout sessions. APA staff was the
presenters in all sessions. For a complete listing and description
of the sessions, click
here.
The day ended with another plenary session, “Divisional Best
Practices”, presented by Jean Carter, PhD. Dr. Carter, Past
President of Divisions 17 and 42, was invited to the DLC to share
her experiences and knowledge on how to prepare for the presidential
term. She gave some valuable information and offered the following
suggestions for making it a success:
- Think about ways of protecting and enhancing the division’s
area of interest and expertise.
- Think of your division as a home and make it a welcoming place.
- Practice effective organizational management. Put yourself in
the position of CEO and think about how the organization functions.
- Set goals! Ask yourself, “How do I want to make a difference?”
“What do I want to have changed during my term as president?”
Work hard to be able to answer these questions positively at the
end of your term.
- Think of the honor that has been given to you and greet this
as a wonderful opportunity to develop your skills as well as new
friendships.
Some additional tips and points Dr. Carter addressed were:
- Make direct appointments! Think of this as a farm system –
get more people involved by making a larger committee structure.
Be sure to put a lot of thought into your appointments because
they will affect the membership of your division.
- Plan strategically for your presidential year; don’t
just let it happen.
- Expand the diversity of your division.
- Develop a presidential task force or project that will have
an impact on the future of the division. Make it doable and something
people will support.
- Read your division’s bylaws and procedures! If they need
updating or revising, do it!
- Make your division’s secretary/treasurer your best friend.
Their support will be crucial to making your year a success.
- Respond to members’ questions quickly! Let them know
that they are important and vital to the success and longevity
of the division.
- Communicate with your members regularly via listservs or newsletters.
Provide information about current activities and invite them to
participate.
- Create a focal place for members at convention (e.g., a hospitality
suite). Make it comfortable and welcoming.
- Make sure that new members aren’t left as strangers. Division
students can be used as on the welcome- committee or find local
students to work in the suite.
During her presentation, Dr. Carter also mentioned a few warning
signs to look out for and pitfalls to avoid. Be aware when volunteers
are not doing their job. The success of many projects is contingent
upon everyone involved completing their part. Develop a master timeline
and allow people to do their job; yet, hold them accountable for
their part. Make it a point to know who the ‘entitled’
people are. They can be instrumental in getting things done. Assess
the cohesiveness of your division. Dr. Carter recommends having
a retreat to get everyone ‘rededicated’ to the division
and its purpose.
Dr. Carter then opened the session to a forum. Increasing the number
of early career psychologists was the main focus of discussion.
Division leaders shared strategies and advice on how to address
this issue. Many suggested having dinners with students and professionals
as an informal mentoring opportunity, which will benefit both entities.
Another suggestion was to offer subsidized shared rooms for students
attending convention and have them serve as suite monitors. Sponsoring
a social hour in which early career and well-known psychologists
sit and talk was also suggested. Getting APAGS involved and having
a representative come to division meetings to discuss their needs
is also a great way to get them involved.
On Sunday morning, APA CEO Norman Anderson, PhD addressed the group.
He noted his commitment to working with the divisions by stating
that divisions are one of the APA signature programs. Dr. Anderson
mentioned that division membership plays an important role in APA
membership retention and he wants to work with divisions to keep
the numbers on the increase. He encouraged division leadership to
contact their Council representatives and express their concerns
to ensure these concerns and needs are being met.
Dr. Anderson went on to talk about his goals as C.E.O. He listed
his top priorities as follows:
- Increase non-dues revenue for the Association
- Increase the influence of Psychology in the world, especially
in the fields of healthcare, education, business and science
- Work in ensure that APA and Psychology can meet the practice
and science needs of America’s changing demographics
- Increase employment opportunities for Psychologists
- Make APA an even better place to work.
Ronald Levant, PhD, APA President-Elect also spoke to the group.
He too talked about the importance of the role divisions play in
APA. Dr. Levant was very encouraging of the division leaders and
welcomed their support and input during his term in office in 2005.
Dr. Levant moved on to talk about his Presidential Initiatives
as they are listed below:
- Making Psychology a household word
- Psychological healthcare
- Cultural diversity
- Evidence-based practice
The next plenary session was dedicated to the “APA Convention
in the 21st Century” lead by Michael Haley, PhD, Board of
Convention Affairs, Chair. Dr. Haley began the discussion with some
historical information dating back to the 1990s, in which the APA
Board of Directors received a significant amount of feedback that
the APA convention was no longer meeting the needs of convention-goers.
They found that new members were not going to Convention and not
joining divisions at the same rate as in the past. At the 2000 DLC,
division leaders told the Board of Convention Affairs (BCA) that
there was too much competition among sessions and that there were
more presenters than attendees at sessions and that the programming
was not drawing enough interest. Division leaders felt there was
a need for more collaborative programming, hence the adoption of
the cluster groups.
After a brief history, Dr. Haley stated that from the research
conducted, BCA and APA know that convention-goers like 50 minute
sessions rather than longer sessions; sessions with fewer participants
that focus on a particular speaker rather than on a topic. Also,
sessions that appear more collaborative are successful.
Dr. Haley reported that there had been dissatisfaction with the
cluster groups and questions arose about how these groups were assigned.
He told the group that division leaders were polled on which divisions
they wanted to work with and clusters were assigned based on the
data collected. Dr. Haley suggested that division presidents-elect
use the opportunity of the DLC to make connections with other divisions
to develop relationships and work out programs for future conventions.
Another suggestion was that collaborative programming might be done
in a poster session that doesn’t require hours to be contributed
from the divisions’ program hours. There was also some sentiment
from the group that APA needs to have more involvement from non-divisional
members.
The group was then split into 2 subgroups to further discuss the
issues surrounding the APA convention. The two groups then reconvened
with a list of recommendations for BCA as listed below:
- Create a CD that allows the individual to create his/her own
convention program using a search feature, division-recommended
sessions and integrating the directorate sessions. Include networking
opportunities and suite programs.
- Creatively expand the hours using early morning and later hours.
Move the plenary sessions to later hours.
- Restructure the program book.
- Have different deadlines for oral presentation and posters.
- Make convention more appealing to a wide variety of interests
and constituents.
- Develop an effective communication and action plan for the cluster
groups.
Mark your calendar for future APA conventions:
2005 – Washington, D.C. 2006 – Boston, MA 2007 –
New Orleans, LA
2008 – Toronto, Canada 2009 – San Diego, CA
The 2004 Division Leadership Conference ended with division leaders
having the opportunity to further network and continue discussions
in during the “Interdivisional Collaboration Planning’
session. This year’s DLC was a success and we thank everyone
for their participation. We look forward to seeing you next year,
January 7 – 9, 2005!
Getting Into the Monitor
“Getting into the Monitor”, a breakout session of the
2004 Division Leadership Conference sparked a lot of interest from
division leaders. Rhea Farberman, Executive Director for APA Public
and Member Communications, presented information on the new format,
style and content of the APA Monitor.
The editorial mission of the Monitor is to cover the breadth of
psychological topics, but not to the depth of a journal article.
The goal is to write shorter, more accessible articles that inform
APA members of the Association’s activities and current topics
in psychology; news you can use and work with that cuts across boundaries.
Ms. Farberman also mentioned that GradPsych, a new quarterly (January/April/June/September)
association publication will be sent to all APA graduate students
starting this year.
Ms. Farberman has introduced a new section in the Monitor called
“A Closer Look…” in which divisions that
have undergone the 5-year review process are featured. Divisions
are asked to provide input on already selected topics and new topics
that will be developed into Monitor articles, as well as information
on persons with expertise in the identified areas to be interviewed
for the article.
The Division Spotlight is a regular column that announces
division activities (call for papers, meeting information, awards,
products, programs, etc.).
This is the 4th year with the new magazine format and that the
Monitor averages 25 to 30 stories per issue and is published eleven
times a year with a combined July/August issue. The web version
is put up at the same time the Monitor goes to print, which is the
weekend of the prior month and mailed the first week of the month.
Story topics are selected and developed 3 to 4 months prior. Story
ideas come from the APA directorates, members, divisions and governance.
The criteria used to determine if an idea materialize into an article
is:
- Have we done it lately?
- Is there good research or someone doing work in the area?
- What resources are required, e.g., travel?
- Is the issue controversial? The implication is that disparate
views need to be addressed.
Stories that use Psychology in real world situations and disseminating
psychological knowledge are of particular interest. Interdivisional
topics, integrative themes or joint projects are also of interest.
A completed story may be submitted for publication and should be
limited to 750 words. To find out if a story has been done recently,
do a web search on the topic of choice on the APA homepage.
Divisions are invited to send story ideas along with suggestions
for people to be interviewed for the story to
Ms. Farberman. Interesting, cutting-edge
convention sessions are welcomed for submission as well. Click
here for a list of topics that will be developed for future
Monitor issues.
Council New Business Items
– February 2004
The Committee on Division/APA Relations (CODAPAR) provides the
following information to division officers to increase the awareness
of and opportunity for division input to governance issues that
are on the current agendas of APA boards and committees. What follows
is a summary of new business items submitted between the close of
the August 2003 and February 2004 sessions of Council. The Agenda
Planning Group, which is made up of the chairs of APA standing boards,
the Committee on the Structure and Function of Council, CODAPAR
(representing division interests), the Committee for the Advancement
of Professional Practice (representing state/provincial interests)
and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students
(APAGS) reviewed the items and referred them to APA groups for consideration.
Divisions are invited to comment on these items. Summary statements
for each item appear below, along with a list of the APA boards
and committees to which the item was referred. The board or committee
appearing in bold has been designated lead group for the item. Division
comments on each item should be directed to the lead board or committee
at the APA address.
The board/committee acronyms used in the listing are:
BAPPI – Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public
Interest
BEA – Board of Educational Affairs
BPA – Board of Professional Affairs
CAPP – Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice
CODAPAR – Committee on Division/APA Relations
COLI – Committee on Legal Issues
CSFC – Committee on Structure and Function of Council
P&C – Publications and Communications Board
P&P – Policy and Planning Board
Item 28A: Listing of ABAP Diplomats in APA Directory
This item asks APA to review the process by which the American Board
of Assessment Psychology grants diplomas to psychologists and then
consider granting similar listing privileges as is currently extended
to diplomats of the American Board of Professional Psychology and
the American Board of Psychological Hypnosis.
Referred to: BPA, COLI, Membership and P&P
Item 28B: Travel Support for Council Representatives
This item recommends that $10,000 be added to the annual budget
so that small states, provinces and divisions can apply for travel
grants p to $500 to defray travel expenses associated with the February
meeting of Council.
Referred to: CSFC, CAPP, CODAPAR and P&P
Item 28C: Support for the Archives of the History of American Psychology
This item proposes that APA make a $60,000 annual contribution to
the Archives of the History of American Psychology to support its
activities.
Referred to: History Oversight Committee, BEA,
P&C and P&P
Item 28D: COR/Directorate Communication Regarding COR Priorities
for APA
This item recommends that on an annual basis, each APA directorate
will report to Council on specific activities that relate to APA’s
top 10 priorities. The list would serve to inform Council, improve
communications between Council and the directorates, and assist
the directorates in focusing on APA’s identified priorities.
Referred to: APA Chief Executive Director Norman Anderson
Item 28F: APA Resolution on Health Care Priority
This item recommends the adoption of a proposed resolution directed
at the reform of the U.S. healthcare system.
Referred to: BPA, BAPPI, CAPP and P&P
Division 41 - Specialty
Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists
Division 41 (Law and Psychology) of the American Psychological
Association, the American Psychology-Law Society, and the American
Board of Forensic Psychology have begun the process of revising
the Specialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychologists (SGFP), first
published in 1991. The SGFP Revision Committee consists of Randy
Otto, PhD (Chair), Solomon Fulero, JD, PhD, Stephen Golding, PhD,
Stuart Greenberg, PhD, and Christina Studebaker, PhD. The SGFP Revision
Committee is interested in the input of all persons who have suggestions
for ways in which the 1991 SGFP can be amended. Persons interested
in adding their names to an SGFP electronic discussion list are
directed to contact
Dr. Stuart Greenberg. Persons wishing
to offer specific ideas about SGFP revisions or share concerns about
the current SGFP may also send their comments to Dr. Randy Otto
by
email or at FMHI, 13301 N. 30th St.,
Tampa, FL 33612, fax: (+1/813) 974-6411. The SGFP are being revised
in accordance with the APA Criteria For Practice Guideline Development
and Evaluation (2001) and Association Rule 30-8.
The SGFP Revision Committee will hold its first meeting on the
revision process at the Doubletree Paradise Valley Resort in Scottsdale,
Arizona in March 2004 in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of
the American Psychology-Law Society (please go to
http://www.unl.edu/ap-ls and click on the Events button for
more information about the APLS Annual Meeting and the Doubletree
Paradise Valley Resort). All interested parties are invited to submit
comments for consideration or to Dr. Otto or via the SGFP discussion
list.
Thanks to the Division
Fellowship Chairs For Another Job Well Done
The Membership Committee and the Public and Member Communications
staff would like to thank and publicly commend the Division Fellowship
Chairs for all their hard work in nominating candidates for APA
Fellowship. Initial Fellows recommended by the Membership Committee
will be announced after the August Convention and their Fellows
status will begin in 2005. Also at the Convention this year, a Fellows
workshop will be held, please join us… we welcome all who
want to attend and find out more about the APA fellowship process!
We hope to see you there!
Call for Nominations
for the 2005 Raymond D. Fowler Award for Outstanding Contributions
to APA
Divisions are invited to submit nominations for the 2005
Raymond D. Fowler Award for Outstanding Contributions to APA –
Member. The Fowler award was established in 2003 to recognize
Dr. Fowler’s service to the association. The Raymond D. Fowler
Award for Outstanding Contributions to APA recognizes an APA member
who has had a significant and enduring impact on APA as an organization
and who has shown a clear dedication to advancing APA’s mission.
Qualifications: Prospective nominees for the Raymond
D. Fowler Award will demonstrate one or more of the following: 1)
a clear dedication to advancing APA’s mission; 2) outstanding
effort in advancing APA as a professional organization; 3) consensus-building
among constituent groups within the organization; 4) contributions
that have a significant and enduring impact on the association and
5) contributions that have a significant impact on the financial
health of the organization.
Nominations: APA Members may be nominated by another
APA member or constituent APA group (i.e., APA boards, committees,
divisions, state/provincial psychological associations). Members
of the APA Board of Directors are not eligible to be nominated for
the award during their term of service on the Board.
Nomination Materials: A complete nominations package
is required for consideration. That includes: 1) a nominations statement
of up to 500 words, 2) no more than 3 letters of support and 3)
a current vita.
Award: A citation will be read at the August meeting
of the Council of Representatives and the recipient’s name
will be added to a wall plaque that will be placed prominently in
the APA headquarters building. A $1,000 honorarium and up to $1,000
in expenses associated with travel to the APA annual convention
will accompany the award.
Nominations should be sent to Casey Reever in the Special Projects
Office at the APA address or via
email. The deadline for receipt
of nominations is October 1, 2004.
The 26th Annual Running Psychologists:
APA 5K “Ray’s Race and Walk”
The annual race and walk at the 2004 Honolulu Convention of APA
will be held on Saturday morning, July 31st, at 7 A.M. The race
will be held on the Kapliani Trail near Waikiki Beach, walking distance
from the major hotels. More details will appear in the APA Monitor
on Psychology, the Division 47 web site (http://www.APA47.org),
and in your convention packet. If you pre-register, you will be
notified via email or post.
Trophies will be awarded to the overall men’s and women's
winners and to the top three in each 5-year age group, from under
25 to over 75. The top three male and female finishers who hold
membership in Division 47 will receive awards. The top three finishers
who are current Psi Chi members also will receive awards, as will
the top three current Psi Chi National Council members. To honor
the exhibitors at our meeting who provide excellent raffle prizes
for us, a special award also will be given to the highest finishing
male and female exhibitor.
Pre-registration will run until July 23rd, which means that the
entry form and fee must be received by that date. Please give us
all the requested information including age and gender so that the
race numbers can be labeled appropriately and save us time in determining
your category for the results. THE ENTRY FEE FOR PRE-REGISTERED
RUNNERS IS $20.00, which includes a commemorative t-shirt, raffle
chance, and post-race refreshments. PAST July 23RD, CONVENTION,
AND DAY-OF-RACE, REGISTRATION FEE IS $25.00. Pre-registration for
students is $10.00 and convention/day-of-race student registration
is $14.00. PLEASE pre-register to help us avoid too many convention
and day-of-race registrations. Make your check payable to: Running
Psychologists. Click here
for the registration form in Adobe
pdf.
2004 CODAPAR Members
Lisa Harlow, Gary Brooks, Martha Banks, Frank Worrell, Ilene
Serlin; Chair, and Thomas Zentall
Division Services Staff
Troy Booker, Division Services Officer
Laura Anibal Braceland, Division Services Coordinator
Keith Cooke, Division Services Manager
Penny Harrison, Division Services Assistant
Sarah Jordan, Director, Divisions Services
2004 Deadlines for
Articles for the APA/Division Dialogue
Please submit copy on diskette or via email to
Troy Booker.
March/April 2004: February 23, 2004
May/June 2004: April 26, 2004
July/August 2004: June 28, 2004
September/October 2004: August 23, 2004
November/December 2004: October 25, 2004
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