Ethics Committee adds new members

APA’s Ethics Committee added three new members in 2006. APA’s Council of Representatives elected the members, whose terms began in January.

The new committee members are:

• Connie S. Chan, PhD, professor of human services at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. Chan is also clinical supervisor at the Center for Multicultural Training in Psychology at the Boston University Medical School.

• Sue C. Jacobs, PhD, associate counseling psychology professor at Oklahoma State University (OSU) in Stillwater, Okla., chair of OSU’s institutional review board for the protection of human subjects and coordinator of the OSU Preparing Future Faculty in Psychology Program.

• W. Brad Johnson, PhD, associate professor in the department of leadership, ethics and law at the U.S. Naval Academy. Johnson also teaches in the clinical and counseling graduate program at Johns Hopkins University and is past-president of Div. 19 (Society for Military Psychology).

Submit comments on psychoanalysis petition

The APA Commission for the Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology (CRSPPP) seeks comments on a petition for renewed recognition of psychoanalysis as a specialty of professional psychology. The revised petition, which was posted for initial comment June 1–Aug. 1, is available for a 60-day period of public review and comment prior to CRSPPP representatives making a final recommendation to the Council of Representatives.

The revised petition, which will be submitted by the Psychoanalysis Synarchy Group on behalf of Div. 39 (Psychoanalysis) and the American Board of Psychoanalysis in Psychology, will be available for viewing at www.apa.org/crsppp Sept. 15–Nov. 15.

Submit comments to Joan Freund, Office of Graduate Education and Training, Education Directorate, at the APA address; e-mail. For more information, contact Freund at (202) 336-5967.

Apply now for 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 Fellowship,funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 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 Mental Health Research Fellowship, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and geared to those pursuing research careers in mental health issues involving ethnic-minority populations. MFP encourages students who specialize in community, social, developmental, health, aging or cognitive psychology, psychopathology or other mental health areas to apply.

• 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 Neuroscience Predoctoral Fellowship and the Neuroscience Postdoctoral Fellowship, funded by NIMH to support students 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, request one by e-mailing MFP or write to APA/MFP Fellowship at the APA address.

Apply for a spring 2007 APAGS-CEMA grant

The American Psychological Association of Graduate Students Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (APAGS-CEMA) awards up to two $500 grants for each spring semester, and up to three $500 grants each fall semester, to students for projects that recruit, retain and enhance the training of ethnic-minority graduate psychology students. Examples include workshops, conferences, speaker series, mentorship programs and the development of student organizations with a focus on multiculturalism or ethnic-minority concerns. Visit www.apa.org/apags/members/schawrds.html for application details. Applications for the spring 2007 grants are due Dec. 1.

Students: Present at the 2007 APA convention

Students are invited to present at APA’s 115th Annual Convention in San Francisco, Aug. 17–20, 2007. Materials must be received in the APA Central Office by Dec. 1 to be considered. Visit www.apa.org/apags/convention/homepage.html for information on how to submit a proposal.

Attend correctional health conference

The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) will hold its 30th National Conference on Correctional Health Care, Oct. 28–Nov. 1, in Atlanta. APA is an NCCHC-supporting organization.

According to NCCHC, the conference is expected to attract psychologists and other professionals working to improve the quality of care provided in the nation’s prisons and juvenile detention and confinement facilities. Former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, MD, PhD, is scheduled to deliver a plenary address. Featured conference topics include mental health care, legal and ethical issues, juvenile health care and professional development.

Visit www.ncchc.org/education/national2006/atlanta.html for additional information about the conference and to register online. A $50 reduced registration fee is available to those who register by Sept. 15.

Attend the Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology

The New England Psychological Association, APA’s Education Directorate and APA’s Board of Educational Affairs are co-sponsoring the 12th annual Northeast Conference for Teachers of Psychology (NECTOP) on Oct. 20. The conference, at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, N.H., features programs on successful teaching strategies and techniques that will enhance the skills of teachers of all levels of psychology.

This year, APA’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) and APA’s Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges (PT@CC) are sponsoring three sessions at the NECTOP conference. Presenters are Stephen Davis, PhD, of Texas Wesleyan University, and Barney Beins, PhD, of Ithaca College. One session will explore how teachers can facilitate psychology student research at all educational levels, another will examine “Psychology and Scientific Thinking,” and a third will delve into academic dishonesty in high school and college.

Registration fees, due by Sept. 27, include all NECTOP conference sessions, continental breakfast, lunch and the poster reception. Fees are $65 for APA, TOPSS and PT@CC members and $80 for nonmembers.

Visit www.apa.org/ed/topss/conf_wkshop.html for more details and registration forms.

Experience federal policy-making by serving as an APA 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’ postdoctoral experience is preferred.

The one-year appointment begins Sept. 1, 2007, and includes a stipend that ranges from $55,000 to $70,000, depending on the recipient’s years of postdoctoral experience. 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 a 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. 5. 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.

—E. PACKARD

Robin J. Hailstorks joins Education Directorate In August, psychologist Robin J. Hailstorks, PhD, took the reins as associate executive director of APA’s Education Directorate and director of its Office of Precollege and Undergraduate Education. “Dr. Hailstorks’ expertise in the teaching of psychology and in undergraduate education will provide APA with leadership in advancing critical components of our mission,” says Cynthia D. Belar, PhD, APA’s executive director for education. “Precollege and undergraduate education not only serves as the pipeline for the discipline, but provides many with their first contact with psychology. It is a major source of public education about our discipline and profession.” Hailstorks will work closely with APA’s Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools program and Psychology Teachers at Community Colleges programs to strengthen APA’s collaboration with schools and create new collaborative relationships across the various precollege and undergraduate communities. She will also work closely with faculty at four-year institutions to strengthen undergraduate education. Before starting at APA, she was chairperson of the psychology department at Prince George’s Community College in Largo, Md., and an adjunct faculty member at Howard University. Hailstorks says her background in community colleges gives her a unique perspective on the new position. “I see community colleges as the natural bridge between high school and four-year colleges,” she says. “There are issues and concerns regarding education, like teaching introductory psychology, that overlap.” Indeed, an important part of her APA position will be supporting the pipeline of psychology students fromelementary through middle and high schools, on to community and four-year colleges, and eventually to graduate school. The field of psychology should reach out to students from a young age to educate them about psychology’s varied career options, notes Hailstorks. “We have to plant the seeds to let them know there are interesting opportunities for them in behavioral social sciences,” she says. Hailstorks particularly plans to focus on educating very young students, noting that other disciplines, such as engineering, begin recruitment as early as elementary school. She is involved with several projects to do just that. She is currently executive co-director of Diversity Project 2000 and Beyond, a national mentoring and leadership program for ethnic-minority honor students at community colleges who are interested in research careers in psychology, and she is also a core team leader for APA’s National Institute of General Medical Sciences grant on increasing the number of ethnic minorities in the biomedical sciences. As a core team leader, she has participated in career-day programs for elementary and middle school students. Hailstorks has been an active member of APA, serving on the Board of Educational Affairs (BEA), as chair of BEA’s Technology Working Group and on APA’s Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology. She received APA’s Div. 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) Two-Year College Teacher Award in 1997, and Prince George’s Community College’s Faculty Senate Teaching Excellence Award in 1998. She is the past national president of Psi Beta, the national honor society in psychology for community colleges. —E. PACKARD