2004 Annual Reports for Boards and Committees

2004 MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE ANNUAL REPORT

Membership Committee Composition and Slates

2004 Committee Members: Janet R. Matthews, PhD, Chair; Richard M. Suinn, PhD, Vice-Chair; Derald Wing Sue, PhD; Lynn T. Pantano, PhD; Mathilda B.Canter, PhD and John D. Robinson, EdD, MPH, ABPP.

Outgoing members are Janet Matthews and Derald Wing Sue. Richard Suinn is the 2005 Chair. John Robinson will serve as 2005 Vice-Chair and will become Chair in January 2006. Incoming members for 2005 are Paul Lloyd, PhD and Harold Takooshian, Ph.D.

The Committee continues to focus on broad representation from APA's diverse membership, ethnic and linguistic minorities, early career interests, and Governance newcomers when composing slates for election to the Membership Committee.

Membership Committee Objectives

Recruitment and retention of members and affiliates continues to be the Committee's primary objective, with strong emphasis on retention. The Committee recommends that this focus reach across all governing bodies and Central Office programs. APA policies and activities should take into account their impact on attracting and keeping members, if not on directly satisfying member needs. The Association must prioritize and position products, services, and communications according to their continued relevance to members. The Committee also notes continued emphasis on addressing broader issues, which include emerging and inevitable demographic shifts, an aging membership, and relative influence over academic and career pipelines.

The Committee supports continued vitality of the APA Multicultural Guidelines, emphasizing that they address shifts in ethnicity and culture that will affect psychology, and thus recruitment and retention of members, and continued engagement of the population at large. The Membership Committee supports all efforts to extend the promotion of multicultural awareness beyond minority-related governing bodies and divisions. In 2004 and 2005, the Committee supported a pilot project to engage minority students in psychology at the high school level. The Membership Committee Chair also chairs the Presidential Task Force on Enhancing Diversity.

The Membership Committee enthusiastically welcomes the Committee on Early Career Psychologists, continues it's strong support for APAGS, and encourages engagement of students and early career psychologists as vital to the Association's health and future; integrating these groups into the broader objective of reinforcing identification with APA and helping members and affiliates throughout the professional lifetime.

Membership Trends

At year end 2004 there were just under 150,000 members and affiliates, continuing a steady-state trend where the numbers of incoming individuals keep pace with the outgoing. In 2004 the number of full members topped 90,200, student affiliates numbered over 52,300, high school and community college teachers were over 2,600, and international affiliates approached 4,000. Of note in the last three years since the establishment of the new affiliate opportunities, high school student counts have exceeded 600, community college students have added more than 300 to the undergraduate counts, and community college teacher affiliates surpassed 500. The number of newly elected full members was just under 5,500 in 2004 making it the largest recruitment year since 1998. The percentages of paid members and affiliates has remained about the same for the last five years.

Strategic Marketing

The Membership Committee and Membership Development team continue to deploy and evaluate strategic marketing initiatives intended to influence the pipeline of potential members and affiliates, recruit from these populations, inform them regarding the value of membership and keep them engaged, and prevent or minimize their attrition. This work includes manifesting a schedule of direct response campaigns and associated advertising and web or email solutions, reinforcing and expanding the (national opt-in) Department Volunteer Network and collaborating with APAGS campus representatives; expanding existing research and communications directed toward students and early career psychologists; adding significant new architecture and content to membership-related sections of the APA website; and improving existing membership resource materials used for member communications, retention, and recruitment.

The Membership Committee and Membership Development team also continued to develop and manage loyalty incentive programs negotiated on behalf of members (e.g., travel and financial programs, subscriptions, office products) which now account for nearly $500,000 in annual royalty and advertising revenue, and representing tens of thousands of beneficial interactions between members and the Association.

Public and Member Communications welcomes a new Senior Director for Membership and Convention Marketing, beginning February 28, 2005.

Membership Retention and Recruitment Fund

In 2004, the Membership Committee and Membership Development team continued a schedule of strategic activities, meeting objectives outlined by governance for the Membership Recruitment and Retention Fund. Special emphasis was given to minority and diversity issues through careful list research and the distribution of resources and materials for teachers and students. Activities included outreach to secondary school teachers and students, community college teachers and students, and APA grassroots volunteer groups. Some seed money was also provided to fund projects undertaken by APAGS and a cross-governance working group.

In 2005, the final year of the Recruitment and Retention Fund, activities will include a) expanded direct mail marketing to non-member psychologists, students, and teachers; again with special emphasis on ethnic minority populations; b) continued outreach to early career psychologist members; c) enhancements to the Membership and Early Career pages on the APA website including expanded and reorganized content; and d) membership information and advocacy toolkit materials refinement, production, and distribution.

APA Fellows

Upon recommendation from the Membership Committee and the Board of Directors, the Council of Representatives elected a total of 119 Members to initial APA Fellow status for the year 2005. A total of 150 Fellows were granted current Fellow status in additional divisions. Initial Fellows were congratulated with personal letters from the Committee Chair, sent Fellow certificates, and recognized as Fellows in the APA membership database and the American Psychologist. The Membership Committee conducted the Fellow Chair orientation during the Annual APA Convention. The Membership Committee continued to evaluate the APA Fellow process and consider feedback from division fellowship committees regarding criteria, timelines, and application and nomination materials.

While considering Fellow nominations each year, the Membership Committee identifies several Fellow nominees whose work is of a truly extraordinary nature and potentially newsworthy. In 2004, the Committee worked with the APA Public and Member Communications Directorate to promote the achievements of these individuals in local and academic media.

Waiver Applications & Ethics Cases

The Membership Committee reviewed 10 waiver applications in 2004. The Committee considered 28 Ethics cases forwarded from the Ethics Committee and acted on each case based on standard membership requirements.