Association News

Psychologists and students form working group on teaching and educational issues

The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students and the Board of Educational Affairs have created a joint working group focusing on teaching issues and careers in academia. The new group is composed of graduate students and faculty whose interests and expertise are in the teaching of psychology.

The working group will address questions and issues students may have about careers that involve teaching psychology. The working group also hopes to create an online mailing list for graduate students interested in discussing teaching-related issues and future projects geared toward assisting students in their pursuit of academic careers. Student members of the working group are Terri Teague (chair), Matthew Campbell, Jennifer Egert and Gayle Morse. Faculty liaisons to the working group are Stephen Davis, PhD, James Korn, PhD, and Kashemi DeShawn Rorie, PhD.

The working group welcomes comments or questions about the group or questions related to teaching careers. For suggestions or inquiries, please contact Mayella Valero of the Education Directorate at (202) 336-6139, web site: www.apags.org, or www.apa.org/ed.

APA 1998/1999 awards schedule change

The APA awards for 1998 and 1999 have been combined, and will be presented at APA's 1999 Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 20?24. The changes are being made so that future awards will be announced and published in the same year. Winners for the 1998/1999 awards will be announced in the March 1999 issue of the APA Monitor and the April issue of American Psychologist (AP). And AP will publish winners? citations, biographies and papers in November 1999.

The call for nominations for year 2000 awards will appear in the March, April and May issues of the Monitor and in the April issue of AP. The deadline for nominations for 2000 will be June 1. Watch for more information on the awards in upcoming issues of the Monitor.

Nominations sought for lesbian, gay and bisexual award

APA?s Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) seeks nominations for its annual Outstanding Achievement Award, which recognizes psychologists for significant contributions to CLGBC?s mission The committee strives to:

? Study and evaluate the best way to research the issues and concerns of lesbian, gay male and bisexual psychologists.

? Encourage objective and unbiased research in areas relevant to lesbians, gay men and bisexual people.

? Examine the consequences of stereotypes about lesbian, gay male and bisexual adults and youths in clinical practice.

? Develop educational materials for distribution to psychologists and others.

? Recommend ways to integrate these issues into APA?s activities to further the cause of the civil and legal rights of lesbian, gay male and bisexual psychologists within the profession (APA Association Rule 150-4).

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

All submissions should include a letter of nomination with a brief description of the nominee?s achievements and contributions (500-word maximum), a current curriculum vitae and the names of three people who have been asked by the nominator to write reference letters. Current members of CLGBC or staff of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Program are not eligible for consideration. The deadline for receipt of nominations is May 1.

Send nominations and supporting materials to CLGBC Awards, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.

Time to renew your membership dues

The Membership Department reminds members and affiliates to send in 1999 dues or fee payments and journal orders to ensure updated records and to take advantage of the member or student journal credits.

Prompt payment guarantees uninterrupted delivery of the APA Monitor, American Psychologist and various APA newsletters.

Members who renew on time receive a variety of money-saving benefits, including the APA Card, which offers discounts on a variety of services, as well as eligibility for APA?s Insurance Trust services.

Those with questions related to dues/fee payments or replacement statements should contact the Membership Department at the APA address, (800) 374-2721, TDD: (202) 336-6123, fax: (202) 336-5568.

Seligman award honors graduate students

In honor of Martin E.P. Seligman?s pioneering contributions to the field of optimism and hope, the first 'Martin E.P. Seligman Award for Outstanding Dissertation Research on the Science of Optimism and Hope' will be presented at APA?s 1999 Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 20?24.

The John Templeton Foundation created the $1,000 cash award for graduate students who complete their dissertations on the subject of optimism and hope and plan to continue such research in the future. The foundation will give the prize annually over the next five years. The prize includes travel to the APA awards ceremony and one day?s lodging and expenses. The first award will be presented to a graduate student who completed his or her dissertation after spring 1994.

Barry Schwartz, PhD, a psychology professor at Swarthmore College, will chair the first panel of judges. Other judges are Steven Maier, PhD, director of the Center for Neural Science and professor of psychology at the University of Colorado, and Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, PhD, associate professor of psychology at the University of Michigan.

'We envision this award as helping to ?jump start? the field of positive psychology for the 21st century,' says Schwartz.

Interested candidates should submit six copies of their curriculum vitae and a summary of their dissertation research consisting of no more than eight single-spaced pages (excluding references). The summary should contain a description of the:

? Problem investigated.

? Methods used to investigate the problem.

? Principal findings.

It also must include a discussion of the significance of the findings, especially in relation to optimism and hope, and of ways the work might be continued in the future.

All nomination materials must be sent to the John Templeton Foundation postmarked no later than Feb. 1. A selection committee will notify five finalists no later than May 1. Finalists will be asked to submit a copy of their completed dissertation to the foundation. Send all materials to Pamela Thompson, Director of Communication, The John Templeton Foundation, Five Radnor Corporate Center, Suite 100, 100 Matsonford Road, Radnor, PA 19087, (610) 687-8942, fax: (610) 687-8961.

New APA staff member to cover aging issues

Bringing psychology?s expertise to discussions on aging is the focus of APA?s new Aging Issues Officer, Weldon Bagwell. Bagwell is the staff liaison for APA?s Committee on Aging (CONA), which was established last year by APA?s Council of Representatives. With the elderly population growing, APA wanted to devote a full-time staff member to work with the committee, whose goal is to ensure that psychologists address the needs of the elderly.

Bagwell, who has worked for 10 years in APA?s PsycINFO department, has a strong background in aging issues. He has a master?s degree in gerontology and worked on aging issues at the Blinded Veterans Association and as an intern for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging. He hopes to foster collaborations between APA and other organizations that focus on aging, such as the National Institute on Aging and the American Association of Retired Persons.

'APA?s new Committee on Aging and the Aging Issues program will serve as a coordinating point within APA to develop and disseminate information concerning the scientific findings and practice issues about older adults to psychologists, professionals, policy-makers and the public,' Bagwell says.

He will also be helping CONA accomplish some of its goals, such as obtaining adequate funding for geropsychological research, providing geropsychological training at the graduate and undergraduate level and ensuring access to appropriate mental health services for the elderly. One of Bagwell?s priorities is helping the committee get involved with the United Nations activities for the International Year of Older Persons in 1999.

For more information on CONA or APA's Office on Aging, contact Bagwell at the APA address, (202) 336-6135.

Nominees sought for APA boards and committees

Each year, APA seeks nominations of people interested in serving on the following boards and committees:

? 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

? College of Professional Psychology

? Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Psychology

? Committee on Rural Health

Nominations should be sent to the APA Election Committee at the APA address. All materials must be received by Feb. 1. Nominations will be forwarded to the appropriate board or committee for consideration as it develops its nomination slates. Self-nominations are encouraged. Slates from each board or committee are submitted to the Board of Directors Subcommittee at its June 1999 meeting. The APA Board of Directors grants final approval and determines the composition of all board and committee election slates. Nominees selected through this process will appear on the 1999 board/committee ballot. The ballot will be mailed on Oct. 29 to all members of the 1999 APA Council of Representatives. For additional information on the election process for boards and committees, contact the governance operations officer at the APA address or call (202) 336-6077.

Diversity Task Force releases results and bibliography

Few APA divisions have awards that honor members for incorporating diversity in the teaching of psychology, according to the results of a survey conducted by the Board of Educational Affairs? (BEA) Task Force on Diversity Issues at the Pre-college and Undergraduate Levels in Education and Psychology.

Twenty-four divisions returned the survey, mailed last February to learn how many divisions have awards based on teaching diversity. Out of 93 awards presented, only six were based on teaching and four emphasized teaching diversity. Twelve divisions reported the possibility of developing a teaching award, and 10 expressed an interest to develop a teaching award with an emphasis on diversity.

Although the task force is concerned about the small number of division teaching awards, it hopes to capitalize on the apparent willingness of the divisions to develop such awards in the future by helping divisions incorporate the teaching of diversity into their award structure.

Awards are an important way to recognize the contributions of psychologists who are working toward the teaching of psychology as an inclusive science, the task force believes.

The Diversity Task Force has produced an extensive annotated bibliography as a resource for teachers who are looking for ways to incorporate diversity in their psychology curriculum. This listing can be viewed on the Div. 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) web site. To receive a free copy of the bibliography, or to learn more about the Task Force on Diversity, contact Peter Petrossian at (202) 336-5958.

New information from Education

You can read the acceptance speeches of the Education and Training Award recipients from the 1998 Annual Convention on a web page created by the Education Directorate. The two award winners are Edward P. Sheridan, PhD, senior vice-president and provost at the University of Houston, and Geoffrey Keppel, PhD, professor emeritus at the University of California?Berkley. To read Sheridan?s speech, 'Psychology?s future in academic health care centers and medical schools,' visit www.apa.org/ed/e&t.html. To view Keppel?s remarks, 'Reflections on the art of teaching,' go to www.apa.org/ed/keppel.html.

The directorate also announces that the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) homepage moved to a new address. For the latest information and teaching tips for high school teachers of psychology, visit the TOPSS web site at www.apa.org/ed/topsshome.html.

For more information about Education Directorate web pages, contact Sharon Leiss, (202) 336-6188.

Science Directorate accepts proposals for occupational health psychology curricula

APA?s Science Directorate welcomes applications from universities interested in developing curricula in occupational health psyc hology (OHP), the field that focuses on organizational and job design factors that contribute to injury and illness at work, including stress-related disorders.

Proposals must contain the following information:

? Faculty qualifications

? Institutional commitment

? External collaborations

? Proposal quality and feasibility

? Planned program evaluation.

? Budget justification and written documentation from the dean or other university official that confirms the proposed courses or curricula can be offered at the university.

APA anticipates awarding $18,000 to $22,000 to each recipient, and will distribute funding for these awards in April. Limited funding may be available for an additional year. The deadline for proposals is March 1.

Examples of appropriate training activities under this program include, but are not limited to the development in the following areas:

? Organizational psychology?providing a focus on organizational risk factors for stress, illness and injury at work, and intervention strategies.

? Clinical psychology?improving the recognition of job stress and its organizational sources.

? Human factors engineering?providing more of an exclusive focus on occupational health and safety.

The Science Directorate also encourages increased exposure of behavioral scientists to research methods and practice in public/occupational health and epidemiology.

Universities may propose the development of a new survey course or clusters of courses, graduate minor or master?s/doctoral degree programs, or practica or internship experiences at the predoctoral level. Because occupational health is inherently multidisciplinary, these training experiences should draw upon and integrate knowledge and faculty from several relevant areas, such as psychology, management, public health, human factors engineering, occupational medicine and epidemiology.

Applications can be found at the APA Web Site at www.apa.org/science/ohp. For further information or application materials, contact Adonia Calhoun, Science Directorate, at the APA address or send e-mail.

Committee welcomes nominations for leadership award

APA?s Committee on Women in Psychology (CWP) invites nominations for its 15th annual Leadership Awards. These awards serve to actively demonstrate CWP?s role in advancing psychology as a science and profession, and as a means of promoting human welfare by ensuring that women achieve equality as members of the psychological community.

Candidates will be divided into two categories: emerging leaders and distinguished leaders. Emerging leaders are psychologists who received their doctorate within the past 15 years, made a substantial contribution to women in psychology and show promise of an extensive, influential career. Distinguished leaders are psychologists who have worked for 15 years or more after receiving their doctorate. They should have a longstanding influence on women?s issues and should be recognized leaders in their area of expertise.

Successful candidates will have made significant contributions in one or more of the following areas:

? Service Provision?Individuals who demonstrated outstanding delivery of psychological services to women, such as directing or supervising psychological services for women or developing innovative psychological services for women.

? Scholarship?Individuals who have conducted innovative, high-quality research that affects women?s lives or improves their status, including, but not limited to: increasing our general knowledge and understanding of women?s experiences and development; developing theory and research relevant to decreasing societal biases, such as sexism, racism, heterosexism, ageism and discrimination against people with disabilities, that impede the advancement of women. Relevant activities include publication, teaching and mentoring.

? Public Interest?Individuals whose efforts have furthered the welfare of women, including, but not limited to: promoting legislation that improves the welfare of women; increasing the representation of women in psychology and society; advocating for the rights of women; advancing the utilization of psychology to enhance women?s lives; challenging the discrimination and harassment of all women; and improving the welfare of under-represented subpopulations of women in psychology and society.

? Service in Psychology?Individuals who demonstrated outstanding leadership in their service to psychology, such as serving in multiple leadership positions in the governance of psychology-oriented groups, having a sustaining impact and influence on women?s issues in policy and procedures in professional organizations and/or tackling important and significant issues for women as part of their leadership activities.Nominations should include:

? A brief statement of support for the nominee specifically identifying the individual?s major area of contribution, whether emerging or distinguished, and the particular characteristics that make the person eligible for the award (500-word maximum).

? Six copies of a current vitae and six copies of three reference letters. Reference letters should address the nominee?s leadership activities, contributions and scope of influence that advance knowledge, foster understanding of women?s lives and improve the status of women and underrepresented populations of women in psychology and society.

Current CWP members and APA staff are not eligible, and CWP members cannot make nominations. Award recipients will be selected in March and announced at APA?s 1999 Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 20?24.

All materials must be received by Feb. 1. Send nominations and supporting materials to Susan Houston, Women?s Programs Office, at the APA address.

Send in applications for Alexander Gralnick Award

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) is seeking nominations for the 1999 Alexander Gralnick, MD, Award for schizophrenia research.

Candidates for this award of $2,500 must demonstrate an exceptional contribution to schizophrenia research with emphasis on the discovery and/or treatment of the earliest signs of schizophrenia, emphasizing the psychosocial (as opposed to the biological) aspects of the disease process. The committee is interested in recent or current work with preliminary findings to ensure that the winner of the Gralnick Award is committed to ongoing research in this area. Applicants should submit recent publications in triplicate.

Preference will be given to individuals working in a psychiatric facility and to those working with cutting-edge or ground-breaking issues in psychosocial research and treatment during the earliest signs of schizophrenia.

Application deadline is Feb. 1, 1999. To request an application or additional information, please contact: Theodore Baroody, APF, at the APA address, (202) 336-5814, e-mail

Science Directorate sponsors summer program for undergraduates

Do you know a bright undergraduate who might profit from an intense, week-long exposure to psychological science? APA invites psychology undergraduates to participate in the Summer Science Institute (SSI) for 1999.

APA?s Science Directorate is once again preparing to host the highly successful summer program for college freshmen and sophomores.

The directorate will select 32 students for the 1999 SSI, scheduled from June 12?20 at the University of California at Berkeley. In 1996, APA held two SSI sessions at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the department of psychology at The Johns Hopkins University hosted SSI students for 1997 and 1998.

Faculty members of the department of psychology will participate in SSI by delivering lectures, leading discussions and providing the SSI students with stimulating experiences in their laboratories. Richard McCarty, APA?s Executive Director for Science, will work closely with Karen DeValois, Berkeley?s department chair, to develop the program.

McCarty will lead SSI for the second year in a row. In 1996 and 1997, Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr., professor of psychology at Texas A&M University was the Institute leader.

The directorate staff expects to receive 400?500 applications for 32 slots. Students will be housed in Berkeley dormitories, and APA will pay all student expenses, including travel. SSI information and application materials are available at http://www.apa.org/science/ssi99.html.

Applications must be postmarked by Jan. 28. For more information, contact the Science Directorate at (202) 336-6000.

CE program sponsors are now listed by state on APA's Web Site

For almost 20 years, APA?s Sponsor Approval System has recognized those organizations committed to providing high quality continuing education (CE) for psychologists. More than 550 organizations demonstrated compliance with the high standards set forth by the Committee for the Approval of CE Sponsors (CACES). The CE web site now lists the approved sponsors of CE programs by state, providing easier access to CE workshops. To view the activities list or a complete listing of APA-approved sponsors, please visit the web site at www.apa.org/ce.

APA participates in ?The March?

APA actively participated in 'The March,' a national cancer awareness rally in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 26. Thousands of people from across the country attended the event. APA member Carol Steinberg, PhD, a practitioner from Silver Spring, Md., and Tricia Alvarez and Kim Forsht, from the Practice Directorate?s Public Relations and Communications Department, distributed copies of APA?s fact sheet, 'Breast Cancer: How Your Mind Can Help Your Body.' They also distributed APA?s 'Talk to someone who can help' brochure developed as part of its public education campaign. The fact sheet and brochure explain to the public how psychology can help them cope with a diagnosis of cancer, and how to access psychological services. 'Psychologists play a role in cancer awareness because much of their work deals with people overcoming crises,' says Steinberg.

New summer program on ethnopolitical conflict invites applications

The Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethno-political Conflict (SACSEC) at the University of Pennsylvania is offering a 10-week postdoctoral summer course for psychologists interested in working on problems of ethnopolitical conflict. Learning experiences will range from how to conduct basic research on conflict to how to conduct and evaluate interventions with conflict victims.

Individuals who have completed all of their coursework for the PhD are encouraged to apply to the program. The center will accept 20 students and plans to provide nonlocal students with room and board. In addition, the center will support four to six people who complete the summer program to spend one year working on ethnopolitical conflict at a field site affiliated with the center outside the United States.

Applicants for the summer program should submit a curriculum vitae, two letters of recommendation that are sealed and signed by the recommender and a letter describing their interests, skills and plans for applying course experience if they are not selected for the year placement outside the United States. The deadline for applications is Jan. 15. Notification of acceptance will be no later than Feb. 1. Send applications to SACSEC, Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, 3815 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19104.

For more information about the center, visit its website at www.psych.upenn.edu/sacsec.