Interested in the APA presidency?

Members seeking a nomination for APA President-elect in 2005 may submit a candidate statement that will accompany the nomination ballot. Statements are optional and must be submitted by Jan. 15. Statements must not exceed 50 words. Interested candidates may speak to the Council of Representatives during its meeting, Feb. 17-20, but are responsible for their own transportation and lodging costs. APA will mail the nomination ballot Feb. 1; the balloting period is 45 days. For more information, contact APA's Governance Office at (202) 336-6087;
e-mail.

Get involved in APA governance by serving on one of APA's 15 boards and committees. APA seeks nominees for the following groups:

• Committee on Structure and Function of Council
• Finance Committee
• Ethics Committee
• Membership Committee
• Policy and Planning Board
• Publications and Communications Board
• Committee on International Relations in Psychology
• Board of Educational Affairs
• Board of Professional Affairs
• Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice
• Board of Scientific Affairs
• Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest
• Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Psychology
• Committee on Rural Health

Nominations are due Feb. 1. Send nominations to APA's Election Committee at the APA address. The election committee will forward nominations to the appropriate board or committee as it develops the nomination slates. It then submits slates to the APA Board of Directors Subcommittee on Nominations for review and then to the Board of Directors for final approval. Nominees will appear on the 2005 board and committee ballot, which will be sent on Oct. 31 to members of the 2005 APA Council of Representatives.

For more information, contact APA's Elections Office at (202) 336-6087; e-mail.

The APA Center for Psychology in Schools and Education hosted 13 early-career psychologists in August to kick off the Postdoctoral Education Research Training (PERT) program, an intensive, two-year school-based research training fellowship designed to boost research on the application of psychological science to education.

The event allowed the fellows to socialize and develop peer networks and featured speakers from APA, the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the National Research Council and Montgomery County, Md., public schools.

The PERT program aims to build psychology's capacity for rigorous educational research in primary and secondary education. Unlike programs that provide fellowships to students or grants to universities, PERT independently solicits applications from mentors and students and matches them. A $2 million IES grant supports the PERT program, in which fellows:

• Participate in a series of joint activities focused on translating research into practice.
• Learn about large-scale research.
• Learn about the education policy arena.
• Build a community of APA/IES scholars.
• Develop student interest in education sciences throughout the psychology graduate education pipeline.

For more information on PERT, visit http://www.apa.org/ed/pert/overview.html.

APA's Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training in Psychology (CEMRRAT) requests proposals for the 2005 CEMRRAT grants for ethnic-minority recruitment, retention and training.

APA's Public Interest Directorate will provide $100,000 for next year's implementation of its CEMRRAT Plan. $75,000 will be spent directly in small grants--seed funds--to support programs committed to enhancing ethnic-minority recruitment, retention and training in psychology. Accordingly, CEMRRAT favors proposals for start-up initiatives rather than for maintenance of ongoing projects. The commission will fund three or four proposals in each of five priority areas, which are:

• Training and professional development for linguistic minorities. About $5,000 is available to fund activities that improve services to linguistic minorities by promoting development of training programs and faculty. Examples include collecting, publishing and disseminating model programs that train ethnic-minority psychologists to provide services to linguistic minority populations; designing, documenting and evaluating mental health services; researching and offering professional psychology training programs focused on linguistic minorities; and establishing practicum or mental health services research training in settings serving linguistic minorities.

• Math and science research and training. About $10,000 will fund activities that identify, demonstrate, document or disseminate math, science and research education and training procedures--including distance learning--and strategies that increase achievement and retention of students of color, especially in psychology areas.

• Faculty and professional development. About $20,000 will fund activities that increase multicultural competence in teaching, practice and research among psychology faculty. Individual professional development will be considered only if an applicant presents evidence of limited institutional support.

• Innovative psychology department programs. About $20,000 is available to fund department and school attempts to develop innovative strategies for recruitment, retention and graduation of ethnic-minority students in psychology. The committee especially welcomes applications concerning undergraduates' matriculation to graduate psychology programs.

• Ethnic-minority leadership development. About $5,000 will fund activities that promote leadership skills and opportunities among ethnic-minority psychologists. These funds target APA governance groups, divisions and other organized psychology entities that wish to undertake such leadership training and development. Applicants will provide matching funds equal to the requested amount.

In general, CEMRRAT funds may not be used to support travel, unless such travel is strongly justified and integral to project objectives.

Applications will be accepted after Jan. 1. Relevant proposals, consistent with the funding priorities and CEMRRAT goals, will receive funds on a first-come, first-served basis. Applicants must be APA members at the time of the award.

There is no standard application form. To apply, submit an application no longer than five pages that describes the project's goals, activities, procedures and expected outcomes, justifies the budget for the requested funding amount, and explains how the proposed effort meets the CEMRRAT funding priorities and plan provisions.

Funded programs must submit annual progress reports each year by Dec. 1 and a final report within 60 days of completing the funded activity. For more information, visit www.apa.org/pi/oema. Direct questions to Benjamin Siankam, Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address; (202) 336-6029; fax: (202) 336-6040; e-mail.

APA's Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) is accepting applications for its fellowships in psychology and neuroscience. The fellowships seek to stimulate interest in ethnic-minority mental health research and mental health services by providing financial support and mentoring to doctoral students.

The fellowships are:

• The Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Fellowship.
• The Mental Health Research Fellowship.
• The HIV/AIDS Research Fellowship.
• The Diversity Program in Neuroscience Predoctoral Fellowships and The Diversity Program in Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Applicants for each fellowship must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled full time in a doctoral program when they receive the fellowship. All applicants must demonstrate a commitment to ethnic-minority mental health.

Fellowship applications are due Jan. 15. Download an application at http://www.apa.org/mfp or request one via e-mail or by writing to APA/MFP Fellowship at the APA address. See the November Monitor for more information.

The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students (APAGS) seeks nominees for the 2005 Outstanding State, Provincial or Territorial Psychological Association of the Year Award. APAGS, the Committee for the Advancement of Professional Practice and Div. 31 (State Psychological Association Affairs) present the $1,500 award each year to a state, provincial or territorial psychological association (SPTA) that has demonstrated exemplary commitment promoting graduate student development and joint APAGS/SPTA membership.

The application deadline is Jan. 31. SPTAs that have won the award within the last five years are not eligible. For application requirements and instructions, http://www.apa.org/apags/members/schawrds.html.

At its July 2004 meeting, APA's Council of Representatives adopted as association policy the "Resolution on Culture and Gender Awareness in International Psychology." The resolution intends to facilitate awareness of psychology and psychologists engaged in international projects.

In recent years, international collaborative projects in the social and behavioral sciences have become increasingly common, the resolution says. Therefore, U.S. psychology and psychologists must consider international contexts to forge mutually beneficial partnerships with the international psychological community, the resolution says.

The resolution calls for a mutual and collaborative model that offers U.S. psychologists guidance in postmodern perspectives, encourages psychological work grounded in social justice and considers the best interests of all people. Read the resolution at http://www.apa.org/international/resolutiongender.html.

APA's Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) seeks applicants for its 2005 Outstanding Achievement Awards. The committee annually presents one or two awards to recognize psychologists' significant contributions to the CLGBC mission, which is to:

• Study and evaluate how to best meet LGB psychologists' concerns.
• Encourage unbiased research in areas relevant to LGB adults and youth, as well as objective understanding of the social impact of such research.
• Examine the consequences of stereotypes about LGB adults and youth in clinical practice.
• Develop educational materials to distribute to psychologists and others.
• Make recommendations on how to integrate these issues into APA activities to further the civil and legal rights of LGB psychologists.

Nominees can make significant contributions to CLGBC's mission through direct CLGBC service or independent work. The contributions may be scientific, professional, educational, political or of a leadership nature.

Nominations are due May 1 and should include a nomination letter no longer than 500 words describing the nominee's specific achievements and contributions, a current curriculum vitae and the names of three people writing reference letters. Current members of CLGBC and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns program staff are not eligible.

Send nominations and supporting materials to CLGBC Awards, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address; e-mail. For more information, visit http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbc/clgbc.

APA seeks proposals for a small grants program that promotes research and training on health-disparities issues at ethnic-minority-serving institutions.

The program--Promoting Psychological Research and Training on Health-Disparities Issues at Ethnic Minority-Serving Institutions Grants (ProDIGs)--awards grants to faculty who have completed their highest academic degree within the past 10 years to prepare a funding application to a federal agency or foundation.

APA's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs (OEMA), in collaboration with the Minority Fellowship Program, administers ProDIGs and awards funds received from the APA Science Directorate's Academic Enhancement Initiative. Five to seven grants of $5,000 to $6,500 each will be awarded.

About half the grants are for preparation of research applications and half for preparation of program- or curriculum-development applications. Awardees may use their grants to, for example, conduct a pilot study, consult with research and curriculum experts, collect data or hold faculty retreats and workshops. Awardees must submit funding applications to federal agencies or private foundations within two years of receiving their grants.

All awardees must attend a five- to seven-day professional development institute in Washington, D.C., this summer. Additional funds will be provided for travel costs.

There is no formal application form. To apply, submit a two- to four-page detailed concept paper of the proposed research or program- or curriculum-based developmental effort, as well as a cover memo, a recent curriculum vitae, letters of support from your academic department and a detailed proposal budget.

Applications are due Feb. 21.

Research grant applicants must have doctorates in psychology or a related discipline; applicants for program- or curriculum-development grants must have at least a master's degree in psychology or a related field. Applicants must be APA members, be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, have a faculty or research affiliation of greater than 0.50 FTE (full-time employment) at an accredited, predominantly ethnic-minority-serving institution and have completed their highest academic degree within the past 10 years at the time of the grant award.

For further information and a detailed copy of the request for proposals, visit http://www.apa.org/pi/oema and click on ProDIGs, or contact Sonja Preston, OEMA, at the APA address; (202) 336-6029; e-mail.

The Office of International Affairs seeks applicants for the $1,000 David International Travel Award. The award supports a young psychologist--a doctoral candidate or someone with no more than five years of postgraduate experience--who is interested in studying human reproductive behavior or population issues. Made possible by a donation to the American Psychological Foundation from Henry P. David, PhD, the award will subsidize the winner's travel to an international or regional congress of his or her choice.

The submission deadline is March 15. For a list of application criteria and an application form, contact the Office of International Affairs at the APA address; (202) 336-6025; fax: (202) 218-3599; e-mail.

The annual elections process for the APAGS Committee will begin in January. Available positions include: chair-elect; member-at-large, communications focus; and member-at-large, education focus. For more information and position descriptions, visit http://www.apa.org/apags.

Deborah DiGilio, the aging issues officer in APA's Office on Aging, testified to the policy committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging (WHCoA) in September on behalf of the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging. She focused on the impact of mental health disorders and substance abuse on older Americans' well-being and encouraged the conference planners to include mental health in their deliberations and recommendations for the Oct. 23-26 event.

DiGilio, in collaboration with APA's Public Interest Policy Office staff, also prepared and submitted written testimony advocating for the inclusion of such material. In addition, APA staff have met with key WHCoA staff, including its executive director, and have nominated geropsychologists to serve on its advisory committee. The WHCoA, held approximately once a decade, makes policy recommendations to the president and Congress to assist the public and private sectors in promoting the dignity, health, independence and economic security of older adults.

--M. GREER