Experience policy-making as a congressional fellow

APA is seeking applications for its 2007–2008 Congressional Fellowship Program, which sponsors up to five psychologists to serve as legislative assistants on the staffs of members of Congress or congressional committees for a one-year period beginning in September 2007.

The fellowship program contributes to the more effective use of psychological knowledge in government and broadens awareness about the value of psychology-government interaction among psychologists and within the federal government. Activities may include conducting legislative or oversight work, assisting in congressional hearings and debates, and preparing speeches and briefing materials. Prospective fellows must demonstrate competence in scientific or professional psychology, display sensitivity toward policy issues, and possess a strong interest in applying psychological knowledge to the solution of societal problems. A special fellowship is available for psychologists with expertise in health and behavior issues, including HIV/AIDS.

To qualify, applicants must be U.S. citizens, be APA members and hold a doctoral-level degree in psychology or a related field. A minimum of two years’ experience postdoctorate is preferred.

The one-year appointment begins Sept. 1, 2007, and includes a stipend that ranges from $60,000 to $75,000, depending on the recipient’s years of experience postdoctorate. A supplement of up to $3,500 is available for relocation to the Washington, D.C., area and for travel expenses during the year. An additional monthly stipend of $350 is provided for health insurance and other fellowship-related expenses. Fellows will be selected in early spring of 2007.

To apply, submit an applicant coversheet (available at www.apa.org/ppo/fellows/coversheet.pdf), curriculum vita and three letters of reference specifically addressing abilities related to the fellowship. Include a 1,000-word personal statement that addresses your career goals, interest in the fellowship, potential contributions to the legislative process, and what you want to learn from the experience.

Applications must be received by Jan. 3. Send materials to: APA Congressional Fellowship Program, Public Policy Office, at the APA address. For more information, contact the Public Policy Office at (202) 336-6182 or visit www.apa.org/ppo/fellows. APA is an equal opportunity employer.

Review and comment on curriculum report

APA’s Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) invites APA members to comment on a new report, “Teaching, Learning and Assessing in a Developmentally Coherent Curriculum.” Members can submit their comments online at www.apa.org/ed/resources.html. The BEA Task Force on Strengthening the Teaching and Learning of Undergraduate Psychological Sciences created the report to respond to the need for greater accountability in precollege and undergraduate teaching and learning. Specifically, the report intends to bridge the gap between two existing projects—the APA National Standards for High School Psychology Curricula and the Guidelines on the Undergraduate Psychology Major.

With a focus on student learning outcomes across the developmental continuum of learning, the report describes education goals as basic, developing or advanced for each of five content areas: knowledge base, research methods, critical-thinking skills, applications of psychology and values of psychology. Members can review and comment on the report at www.apa.org/ed/resources.html.

Report on internationalizing undergraduate education available

An Education Directorate working group report on goals for internationalizing the undergraduate psychology curriculum is now available for member comment at www.apa.org/ed/resources.html.

The APA working group report is the result of a collaboration between the American Council on Education (ACE), APA’s Education Directorate and several other organizations, including the Association of American Geographers, American Historical Association and American Political Science Association. The project aimed to promote internationalizing education within each association’s discipline by exploring how work on internationalization can be integrated into institutional strategies and by developing action plans to implement these strategies.

In 2007, a new working group appointed by APA’s Board of Educational Affairs and the Committee on International Relations in Psychology will expand the project within APA and work to develop APA guidelines on internationalizing the psychology curriculum.

For more information about the project, contact Merry Bullock, PhD, in the Office of International Affairs, via e-mail, or Martha Boenau in the Education Directorate via e-mail.

Join the APA Psychology Department Program

APA’s Psychology Department Program (PDP) is a one-stop resource for education in psychology. Now in its third year, the program provides a way for graduate and undergraduate institutions to access teaching and advising publications as well as subscriptions to APA magazines and newsletters. Participating institutions receive, for one year, the following:

• “APA Dictionary of Psychology,” including over 25,000 terms and definitions, encompassing all areas of research and application, and including coverage of concepts, processes and therapies across all the major psychology subdisciplines.

• “Graduate Study in Psychology,” an annual publication with current information about graduate programs in psychology, including entrance requirements, application deadlines and accreditation.

• “Resource Guide for Departments,” a brief reference guide about student scholarships and awards, financial support for teaching conferences and undergraduate research opportunities.

• “Careers in Psychology,” a video and accompanying guide that provides information about the many careers open to psychologists.

• Student memberships. PDP provides three student affiliate memberships for the department to allocate.

• “Behavior Matters” booklet series, informational pamphlets that describe how behavioral research makes a difference in everyday life.

• Psychology club certificate, an APA certificate of recognition for your psychology club.

Departments also receive the following annual subscriptions:

• Monitor on Psychology, APA’s magazine, which is published 11 times a year and provides information on innovative work by psychologists, new and important research findings in the behavioral sciences, emerging trends in psychology practice, psychology education and the nation’s mental health and updates on association activities.

• gradPSYCH, APA’s quarterly magazine for psychology graduate students, which highlights innovative psychology careers, student finances, training and supervision information, graduate student lifestyle issues and emerging trends in psychology practice, research and education.

• Psychology Teacher Network, a quarterly newsletter providing general information, events information and suggestions for teaching in psychology.

• The Educator, a biannual newsletter of the APA Education Directorate.

All participating departments or programs are listed on APA’s Web site, with a link to the department included. The cost for 2006 is $300. More details can be found at www.apa.org/ed/pcue/psydeptprog.html.

For additional information, contact Martha Boenau, assistant director of the Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Education, at (800) 374-2721, ext. 6140; e-mail

Apply for BEA block grants

APA’s Board of Educational Affairs (BEA) seeks applications for its 2007 block grants program, which funds precollege and undergraduate teaching conferences that enhance the quality of teaching and learning outcomes. The BEA awards $5,000 in block grants each year, and 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 be considered for funding, applications must meet the following criteria:

• The conference must advance the teaching of psychology at the secondary, two-year and/or four-year 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 speaker fees.

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

• Conference goals and activities. Proposals will be rated on the perceived importance and innovativeness of the conference as well as the clarity and completeness of the description of the conference objectives and activities. A conference announcement or brochure should be submitted with the application.

• Composition of target audience. Proposals will be rated on the potential impact and suitability of content for the target audience.

• Budget information. Proposals will be rated on the clarity and completeness of the description of the conference budget, anticipated expenses, as well as confirmed and anticipated funding sources and amounts.

Applications should be postmarked by Feb. 23. Send written requests to: Martha Boenau, assistant director of the Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Education, at the APA address; e-mail.

Submit workshop proposals for 2007 convention

The Continuing Education Committee (CEC) seeks proposals for continuing-education programming at APA’s 2007 Annual Convention, in San Francisco, Aug. 17–20, that:

• Are relevant to psychological practice, education and science.

• Enable psychologists to keep pace with emerging issues and technologies.

• Allow psychologists to maintain, develop and increase competencies to improve services to the public and enhance the profession.

CEC encourages diverse topics and presentation methods. Topics of particular interest include health and behavior, ethics, assessment, consultation, legal issues, psychological treatments, grant-writing and publishing, and working with diverse populations.

First-time presenters receive an honorarium of $125 per instructional hour, per workshop. Returning presenters are offered an honorarium of $150 per instructional hour, per workshop. In addition to the honorarium, presenters are offered complimentary attendance at one CE workshop.

Proposals are due Nov. 5, and selections will be made by mid-December.

The 2007 workshop proposal form is available online at www.apa.org/ce. All proposals must be submitted through this Web site. For more information, contact Marcia E. Segura, manager of continuing professional education in APA’s Education Directorate, at (202) 336-5691; e-mail.

APA to collaborate on health insurance campaign

In July, APA’s Executive Management Group accepted an invitation from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to become a national supporter of the Covering Kids & Families Back-to-School Campaign. The campaign aims to reduce the number of eligible, uninsured children and adults through enrollment in Medicaid or the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). As a supporter, APA will distribute information about the campaign through its Web site, listserv announcements, newsletters and electronic mailings.

The Back-to-School Campaign, which kicked off on Aug. 9, aims to:

• Encourage parents to enroll eligible children in Medicaid or SCHIP through the 1 (877) KIDS-NOW toll-free hotline.

• Form partnerships with national organizations to promote messages about the toll-free number and the availability of low-cost and free health-care coverage.

• Work with U.S. Major League Soccer to encourage teams to declare a “Children’s Health-Care Coverage Day” and promote the toll-free number.

More information on the campaign is available at http://coveringkidsandfamilies.org.

Apply now for 2007 Minority Fellowship Program

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 (MHSAS) Fellowship, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Applicants must be doctoral students in clinical, counseling or school psychology and plan to pursue careers as practitioners or psychotherapy researchers specializing in ethnic-minority populations.

• The MHSAS Postdoctoral Fellowship, also funded by SAMHSA and intended for early-career doctoral recipients interested in a career in mental health services research, service delivery or policy.

• The Mental Health Research Fellowship, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and geared to those pursuing research careers in ethnic-minority mental health.

• The HIV/AIDS Research Fellowship, funded by NIMH and targeting those pursuing careers in HIV/AIDS research or prevention. The fellowship is funded as a subspecialty under the Mental Health Research Program.

• The Diversity Program in Neuroscience Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellowships,funded by NIMH to support individuals pursuing careers in neuroscience, including behavioral neuroscience, cellular neurobiology, cognitive neuroscience, neuroanatomy and other fields.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents enrolled full time in a doctoral program when they receive the fellowship. Mental health and substance abuse services applicants must be in an APA-accredited program. All applicants must demonstrate a commitment to ethnic-minority mental health.

Fellowship applications are due Jan. 15. Download an application at www.apa.org/mfp or request one via an e-mail or by writing to APA/MFP Fellowship at the APA address.

Recognize contributions to lesbian, gay and bisexual issues

APA’s Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) seeks nominations for its annual Outstanding Achievement Awards to recognize psychologists’ significant contributions to its mission. This mission is to:

• Evaluate how APA members can address the concerns of lesbian, gay and bisexual psychologists.

• Encourage objective research that can benefit lesbian, gay and bisexual adults and youth.

• Examine the consequences of lesbian, gay and bisexual stereotypes in clinical practice.

• Develop educational materials for distribution to psychologists and others.

• Recommend ways to integrate these issues into APA activities. Nominees may have made significant contributions to CLGBC’s mission either through direct CLGBC service or through independent work. The contributions may be of a scientific, professional, educational, leadership or political nature.

All nominations should include a nomination letter of no more than 500 words that describes the nominee’s specific achievements and contributions, a curriculum vitae and the names of three people who will write reference letters. No current members of CLGBC or staff of the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns Program at the time of the award are eligible for consideration. The nomination deadline is May 1. Send nominations and supporting materials to CLGBC Awards, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address; e-mail.

—E. Packard

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