Div. 9 hosts biennial convention

Div. 9 (Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues) will host its fifth biennial convention June 25-27 in Washington, D.C.

Titled "From desegregation to diversity," the program will explore the implications of societal diversity from a research, social-policy and social-action perspective.

Students and non-SPSSI members can attend. To register, visit the Div. 9 Web site at www.spssi.org. For more information, contact the SPSSI Central Office, 208 I Street NE, Washington, D.C., 20002; (202) 675-6956; e-mail: spssi@spssi.org.

Div. 17 advocates for collegiate mental health service grants

Recent advocacy efforts by members of the APA Div. 17 (Society of Counseling Psychology) Section of College and University Counseling Centers (SCUCC) seek to raise congressional awareness of college students' mental health needs and fostered the creation of the Campus Care and Counseling Act. If passed, the act would amend the 1965 Higher Education Act by making $10 million in competitive grants available for centers on college campuses that provide mental and behavioral health services to students.

SCUCC members Karen Lese-Fowler, PhD, Rebecca MacNair-Semands, PhD, and Sherry Benton, PhD, drafted letters that other division members could use to contact their legislators to stimulate grassroots action on college campuses.

Reps. Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) and Tom Osborne (R-Neb.) introduced the bill in November, and it now has 20 congressional co-sponsors. For information on H.R. 3593, including how to support the proposed legislation, visit www.apa.org/ppo/ppan/counsctrfacts04.html. For information about SCUCC, visit www.div17.org/SCUCC.

Div. 21 launches new mentoring program

Div. 21 (Applied Experimental and Engineering) has launched a new mentorship program that provides counseling services and networking opportunities to those interested in learning more about or pursuing careers in applied experimental or engineering psychology.

All APA members, including students, can sign up to be either program mentors or mentees. The division will match those seeking advice with mentors who are best equipped to handle their particular questions. Most mentoring will take place via e-mail. To join the program as either a mentor or mentee, contact Div. 21 President Doug Griffith, PhD, at douglas.griffith@comcast.net. Include a description of your professional interests and experience in the message. For more information, visit the division Web site at www.apa.org/divisions/div21.

Apply for Div. 53 awards and mentoring program

Div. 53 (Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology) is seeking applicants for three research grant programs:

* Public Sector Mental Health Services for Children and Families Grant. One $5,000 grant is available for innovative clinical research by a clinical child psychologist whose primary post is outside of academe.

* Grant for Research in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Two $2,500 awards are available for doctoral students enrolled in APA-approved clinical psychology training programs and one $2,500 grant for a postdoctoral fellow. Applicants must be planning academic careers in child and adolescent mental health. The grants fund empirical studies on methods of assessment, prevention or treatment, or on issues related to the psychopathology of children or adolescents.

* Career Awards in Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. Two research awards will be presented, with $750 available for travel to APA's Annual Convention to present an invited address. One is slated for an early-career faculty researcher and one for a midcareer researcher.

The division is also seeking applications for its junior faculty mentoring and development program. Up to three clinical child psychologists in their first three years of full-time work in academe will be selected to participate this year. Each mentor and mentee will meet in person and maintain an active correspondence via e-mail and phone for a minimum of three years.

For more information, contact Div. 53 newsletter editor Michael A. Southam-Gerow, PhD, at masouthamger@vcu.edu or visit the division Web site at www.clinicalchildpsychology.org.

--M. GREER