Monitor on Psychology - Association news

Monitor on Psychology
Volume 38, No. 1 January 2007

Table of contents

Association news
Print version: page 62

Submit proposals for ethnic-minority recruitment, retention and training grants

APA’s Public Interest Directorate seeks grant applicants for its Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention and Training (CEMRRAT) Plan. The plan allots about $75,000 to fund small grants that serve as seed funds to support individuals, organizations and educational institutions committed to enhancing ethnic-minority recruitment, retention and training in psychology. CEMRRAT gives funding consideration on a first-come, first-served basis to innovative start-upinitiatives rather than ongoing projects. The commission will fund two to four proposals in each of the following five priority areas:

• Training and professional development for linguistic minorities.

• Faculty recruitment and retention.

• Faculty and professional development.

• Innovative psychology department programs.

• Ethnic-minority leadership development.

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. In gen-eral, CEMRRAT funds may not be used to support travel, unless such travel is strongly justified and integral to project objectives. CEMRRAT began accepting applications on Jan. 1 and strongly encourages electronic submission. For more information, visit www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs/grantsawards.html or contact Shannon Watts, special projects manager, APA Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, at the APA address; e-mail.

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Test end-of-life programs for AIDS office

APA’s Office on AIDS seeks psychologists and master’s-level counselors to test the effectiveness and appeal of a Web- and CD-based interactive program and a traditional home study program of readings on end-of-life issues for mental health providers. The program of 10 two-hour modules will offer 20 continuing-education credits to those who test and complete the program, and the office will randomly assign participants to the two learning conditions and waive the program fees. To participate, contact program director Martha Mihaly, PhD, via e-mail.

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Nominate colleagues for Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award

APA’s Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA) seeks nominations for the Jeffrey S. Tanaka Memorial Dissertation Award in Psychology, which recognizes work that contributes to a better understanding of psychological issues and concerns facing ethnic minorities.

Tanaka was an Asian-American psychologist whose work emphasized the importance of culture and ethnicity in the scientific understanding of behavior.

To be eligible for the award, applicants must have filed their dissertations in 2004 or 2005 on research involving one or more of the following areas:

• Enhancing the psychological understanding of ethnic-minority issues.

• Improving psychological service-delivery systems to ethnic minorities.

• Developing new concepts or theories relevant to ethnic-minority populations.

• Creating methodological paradigms that promote effective research and understanding of the values, beliefs and needs of ethnic-minority communities.

A CEMA-appointed selection subcommittee will choose the winner through an anonymous review process. Criteria include the dissertation’s impact on ethnic-minority populations, completeness, clarity, creativity and the effectiveness of the research design. The subcommittee will choose semifinalists from submitted abstracts. Semifinalists must submit copies of their entire dissertations for the final selection process.

The winner receives a nominal cash award, a travel award sponsored by APA’s Science Directorate to the association’s 2007 Annual Convention, Aug. 17–20, in San Francisco, registration fees and an invitation to share the dissertation’s highlights at convention.

The application deadline is April 1. Applications should include four copies of an abstract that is fewer than 1,000 words. The dissertation title should appear on all four copies, although only one should identify the author, and provide both regular ground and electronic mailing addresses and daytime telephone number. Send submissions to the Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs at the APA address. For additional information, call (202) 336-6029 or visit www.apa.org/pi/oema/programs.

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Comment on programs up for accreditation review

APA’s Committee on Accreditation is accepting testimony from stu-dents, faculty and consumers on all psychology training programs scheduled for 2007 site visits and periodic reviews.

A list of the programs scheduled for review and those applying for initial accreditation, as well as instructions for providing comments and deadlines, is at www.apa.org/ed/accreditation. For details on providing testimony, refer to section seven of the Accreditation Operating Procedures at www.apa.org/ed/oprtgprcd.pdf. This information is also available by contacting APA’s Office of Program Consultation and Accreditation at the APA address; (202) 336-5979.

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BEA seeks national conference site proposals

The American Psychological Association Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) seeks applications from universities or colleges to host a four- to five-day National Conference on Undergraduate Education in Psychology in June 2008. The BEA steering committee is considering the week of June 21–28, 2008, as the tentative date.

Support as the host for the conference would include such items as room and board for approximately 75 to 80 participants; administrative assistance with the production of materials developed on site (computers and photocopying facilities); availability of large rooms for plenary sessions and smaller discussion rooms; accessibility to major airports and/or shuttle transportation; and the identification of a conference site manager at the institution to be responsible for coordination of the meeting rooms and meals, etc. Prior institutional experience in hosting such an event is desirable.

The committee has drafted preliminary recommendations for conference issues and topics, presenters, participants and funding sources.

All proposals and inquiries are due April 30. Send them to: BEA Steering Committee for the National Conference on Undergraduate Education in Psychology, c/o Martha Boenau, Education Directorate, at the APA address, or e-mail.

—E. Packard

Membership plan slated for governance review

A strategic plan to enhance membership recruitment, retention and engagement has been drafted and will be on the agenda for “cross-cutting” review at the March consolidated meetings of APA’s boards and committees.

The plan contains 35 recommendations—divided into three sections of short, medium- and long-term goals—all designed to help the association attract and retain members and provide activities and services members value.

The plan, drafted by a writing team appointed by the Membership Committee, is an outgrowth of the spring 2006 Membership Summit. The Membership Strategic Planning Writing Group consisted of Harold Takooshian, PhD (Writing Group chair and current chair of the APA Membership Committee); Sandy Tars, PhD; A. Toy Caldwell-Colbert, PhD; Corey Habben, PsyD; and Andrew Benjamin, PhD, JD.

The spring 2006 Membership Summit was an important springboard event for the strategic plan writing process, according to John D. Robinson, EdD, who was the 2006 chair of the Membership Committee and chaired the summit. Over 50 governance leaders representing all APA constituencies attended the full-day summit, which focused on member recruitment, retention and engagement.

“It was important that we discussed where is APA now, where does APA want to be, and how can APA get there,” Robinson says. “One recurrent theme during the summit was not the cost of APA membership, but the value of being a member of the association. I think the plan speaks to that issue.”

The upcoming March cross-cutting review will afford all APA boards and committees an opportunity to review the draft plan and give feedback to the Membership Committee. The plan is also expected to be reviewed by the Finance Committee and the Board of Directors at their June meetings. The plan and its recommendations will then be reviewed by the APA Council of Representatives, which would take any final action on its content.