New members sought for Committee on Children, Youth and Families

The Committee on Children, Youth and Families (CYF) is seeking applicants for two positions to open in 2004. The committee favors candidates who have experience applying psychological knowledge to the well-being and optimal development of children, youth and families, and expertise in the advancement of psychology in health and human welfare. Candidates with expertise in infancy and early childhood and in promoting positive mental health are especially welcome.

New members will serve for three years and are required to attend one committee meeting a year in Washington, D.C., with expenses reimbursed by APA, and a meeting during APA's Annual Convention at the member's own expense. They are also asked to participate in regular conference calls. In addition, members are expected to work an average of ten hours per month on CYF-related issues. Committee members are also encouraged to lead a project--such as a publication, conference, task force or work group--during their service.

Topics previously addressed by the committee include immigrant children, school dropout prevention, sexuality education, early mental health interventions and day care.

Candidates should submit a letter indicating willingness to serve, a brief project proposal of no more than one page and a current curriculum vitae.

The committee seeks to maintain a membership that reflects the diversity of psychology and society (e.g., ethnicity, culture, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation and geographic location).

The deadline for submissions is Aug. 1. Although it is not required, candidates may have letters (no more than three) supporting their nomination submitted to the committee. Send materials to CYF Nominations, c/o Trena King, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.

Nominate candidates for APA's recording secretary

The Board of Directors is seeking nominations for the position of APA recording secretary. The term of the current recording secretary ends Dec. 31.

According to the association's bylaws: "The Recording Secretary shall be a Member of the Association, elected by the immediately previous Council following nomination by the Board of Directors, and shall serve for a term of three years, beginning on January 1 of the year following his/her election, and shall not succeed himself/herself more than once in this office. During the term of office, the Recording Secretary shall serve as secretary of Council and of the Board of Directors and shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed in these Bylaws. It shall be the duty of the Recording Secretary to keep the records of all meetings of Council and of the Board of Directors; to file and hold subject to call and to direct the publication of such records, reports, and proceedings as are authorized by these Bylaws and by vote of Council or the Board of Directors at any duly constituted meeting; and to perform all other secretarial duties for Council and the Board of Directors as are not delegated to the chief staff officer. In case of the death or incapacity of the Treasurer, the Recording Secretary is authorized to perform the duties normally assigned to the Treasurer."

Nominations must be received by March 15. Any APA member is eligible for nomination. APA's Board of Directors will select the final slate of candidates. The election ballot will be mailed on July 1 to all voting members of the 2002 Council of Representatives with a 30-day balloting period. Send nominations to Gerald P. Koocher, PhD, APA Treasurer, Graduate School for Health Studies, Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115-5898, e-mail: koocher@simmons.edu.

Check out new online newsletter on giftedness

The American Psychological Foundation's Esther Katz Rosen Center for Gifted Education Policy (CGEP) has posted the first issue of its new online newsletter, Gifted Dialogue, which aims to spark research interest on gifted children and adolescents and connect psychologists with the larger giftedness community of scholars, graduate students, policy-makers, advocacy groups, educators, parents and students.

The newsletter, available on APA's Web site at www.apa.org/ed/cgep.html, features continuing-education credit opportunities for psychologists, publishing opportunities for APA and APAGS members, a graduate student column, and interviews and articles about giftedness.

The first issue features three articles on the finalists from the Intel Science Talent Search--the nation's most prestigious high school science competition--which highlight the fact that these nationally ranked young scientists are also accomplished musicians, athletes, linguists and writers. The issue also directs readers to previously published books and articles on giftedness.

"Giftedness involves many areas of psychology including developmental psychology, psychology in the arts, educational psychology, school psychology, sports psychology and clinical child psychology," says Janet Soller, PhD, CGEP's deputy director. "Anyone interested in the social and emotional development of adolescents, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, creativity, performance anxieties and successes, underachievement, perfectionism, testing and assessment, resiliency, and intelligence will find future issues of the newsletter a must-read."

Gifted Dialogue is a collaboration between graduate students and psychologists: A graduate student advisory board, managed by doctoral student Sarah Hood, will be working in tandem with the newsletter's editorial advisory board, made up of Maureen Neihart, PsyD, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius, PhD, Julia Osborn, PhD, Nancy Robinson, PhD, and Frank Worrell, PhD, to plan and edit the journal.

For more information about the newsletter, contact Janet Soller, PhD, at (202) 336-6129.

Apply for BEA block grants for teaching conferences

APA's Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) is inviting proposals for $5,000 in block grants to support precollege and undergraduate teaching conferences. To be considered, applications must meet the following criteria:

* The conference must advance the teaching of psychology at the secondary, two-year or four-year college level.

* The conference must be directed by an APA Member, Associate or Affiliate.

* The grant must be requested by an APA Member, Associate or Affiliate.

* The grant must be used to offset travel expenses of selected conference participants, registration fees of conference participants and/or speaker fees.

Proposals for BEA block grants will be reviewed and evaluated according to the following criteria:

* The importance and innovativeness of the conference as well as the clarity and completeness of the description of the conference objectives and activities.

* The potential impact and suitability of content for the target audience.

* The clarity and completeness of the description of the conference budget, anticipated expenses, as well as confirmed and anticipated sources and amounts of funding.

Following the evaluation of the proposals, the BEA Block Grants Subcommittee will recommend monetary awards based on the availability of funds and on the quality of the applications. Applicants may be awarded up to $1,000 during a given year. If fewer than five acceptable applications are received in a given year, BEA may award more than one block grant (and more than $1,000) to the same conference in that year. To ensure that a variety of conferences receive grants, conferences that have received block grants two years in a row may not be funded or may be funded at lower levels on the third consecutive application.

The deadline for proposal submissions is Feb. 28. Submit a conference announcement or brochure with the application. Send proposals to Martha Boenau, Education Directorate, at the APA Address.

Enliven your Psychology 101

Looking for a way to freshen up your teaching techniques? On March 28, the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) will host a three-hour mini-workshop for teachers of introductory psychology at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association (SEPA) in New Orleans, March 26-29.

The program, open to psychology teachers at the high school and college level, will feature teaching tips, strategies and ideas for making a student's introduction to psychology meaningful and interesting. TOPSS executive committee members Marissa Sarabando and Amy Fineburg will highlight creative classroom activities, and Loyola University psychologist Elizabeth Yost Hammer, PhD, will discuss strategies for teaching social psychology and sexuality.

A special registration fee of $30 is being offered to TOPSS members and high school teachers who wish to attend the workshop, which includes access to all other programs being offered at the SEPA meeting. For registration information, visit the SEPA Web site at www.cas.ucf.edu/sepa. For specific information about the TOPSS program, contact Mayella Valero.

Volunteer to spread the word about APA benefits

APA seeks university and college faculty members who are interested in disseminating information about APA and its resource offerings on their campuses. APA Membership staff will send interested faculty tool kits, publications catalogs, applications and other materials and will occasionally ask faculty for their opinions about APA products. To join this nationwide network, contact Membership at the APA address; (800) 374-2721; (202) 336-5580; TDD: (202) 336-6123; fax: (202) 336-5568; e-mail: Membership

Nominate your program for the Suinn award for ethnic-minority recruitment

APA's 1999 President Richard M. Suinn, PhD, and APA's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs are inviting ethnic-minority students to nominate their doctoral programs for the 2003 Suinn Achievement Awards, which recognize excellence in the recruitment and retention of ethnic-minority students. The three awards will be presented at APA's Annual Convention in Toronto, Aug. 7-10. Both basic programs (e.g., developmental, experimental, cognitive, social, psychobiology, etc.) and professional (e.g., clinical, counseling, school, etc.) psychology programs are eligible for nomination.

Nominations should include the following documentation from the program and/or department chair:

* The name of the university and type of program.

* The number and percentage of ethnic-minority students currently enrolled.

* The number and percentage of ethnic-minority students who have earned a doctoral degree during the past five years.

Nominees will receive a supplemental information form on the elements of the program that contribute to its success (e.g., curriculum, faculty/student collaborations, recruitment and retention, mentoring and modeling, funding, etc.) The nomination deadline is May 16. Nomination by e-mail is strongly encouraged. Direct questions and send nominations to Adisa Ajamu, Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, at the APA address; (202) 336-6040.

APA welcomes new SPSSI Scholar

Trauma and resilience expert Diane L. Elmore, PhD, has joined the staff of APA's Public Policy Office (PPO) through September 2004 as the James Marshall Public Policy Scholar of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI).

In this position, Elmore will work closely with PPO staff to represent SPSSI in policy and legislative activities that focus on topics such as aging, post-traumatic stress and resilience, hate crimes, and violence against women.

Elmore came to APA after completing her predoctoral internship at the Honolulu VA Medical Center/National Center for PTSD, Pacific Islands Division. She earned her PhD in counseling psychology from the University of Houston.

Elmore's clinical work has focused on domestic violence, sexual abuse, child abuse, military sexual trauma, prisoners of war, parents and children in violent/high risk communities, parents with post-traumatic stress disorder, refugees and indigenous populations.

The SPSSI scholar position is funded by SPSSI, APA and an endowment provided by the James Marshall Foundation. Elmore can be reached via e-mail.

Graduate student papers sought for ethics prize

APA's Ethics Committee and the American Psychological Association of Graduate Students invite students to apply for the second annual prize for a graduate student paper on psychology and ethics. "Psychology and ethics" is defined broadly to include any empirical or theoretical paper that examines psychology and ethics in relation to science or research, practice, education, public interest or theory of ethics. The prize is open to any Student Affiliate of APA currently enrolled in a predoctoral graduate program. The honoree receives $1,000, a round-trip ticket to APA's 2003 Annual Convention, Aug. 7-10, in Toronto, plus two nights of hotel accommodation. The prize will be presented at the convention, where the student will present his or her winning paper for comment by senior psychologists.

The paper must indicate why its focus is worthy of attention. Submissions must be of publishable quality and written in APA style. Submissions may not exceed 25 double-spaced pages and may not have been previously published.

Submit papers to the APA Office of Ethics (attn: Ethics Prize) at the APA address no later than March 7. Applicants should submit three copies: Two should have no identifying information, the third should include the author's name and contact information, including an e-mail address. The APA Ethics Committee will judge papers based upon quality and originality of ideas, clarity of analysis and expression, and adequacy of literature review. The committee will announce the winner by May 15. For additional information about the prize, visit APA's Web site at www.apa.org/ethics.

New members sought for Minority Fellowship Program advisory committee

APA's Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) seeks three new members for its advisory committee to serve three-year terms beginning Sept. 1. The MFP administers three federally funded training programs for doctoral students in psychology. MFP also aims to improve the quality of mental health treatment and research on issues of concern to ethnic-minority populations and to increase the number of ethnic minorities providing mental health services and research in these areas.

MFP is looking for candidates who have published research related to ethnic-minority mental health, whose research has received grant support from federal agencies, and who have direct experience in training doctoral-level students in mental health and substance abuse services and research. Psychologists with expertise in school psychology, HIV/AIDS and substance abuse prevention and treatment are also encouraged to apply.

The deadline for nominations is May 1. MFP Advisory Committee members attend meetings in March of each year to select new MFP fellows, review the progress of continuing fellows and nominate graduate fellows for awards. Each December, the committee holds a retreat to review the MFP program, update or revise MFP publications and brochures, develop and review programming for upcoming APA Annual Conventions, and review the MFP application and selection process.

Self-nominations are welcome. To nominate, send a letter of support and a curriculum vitae to the Minority Fellowship Program, Attn: Advisory Committee Selection, at the APA address.

Start the year with a new mentoring relationship

APA's Disability Issues in Psychology Office is seeking mentees and mentors for its Disability Mentoring Program, which matches APA Members who have disabilities with newly disabled psychologists and psychology students and new professionals with disabilities. Mentors provide mentees with emotional support and practical guidance in their academic or career pursuits.

Mentors are matched to mentees who share the same disability, identified area of assistance, and/or major field in psychology. For additional information, and to apply to the program, visit www.apa.org/pi/cdip/mentoring/homepage.html. For questions and other information, contact APA at (202) 336-6038; TTY: (202) 336-5662; e-mail.

--J. CHAMBERLIN