The APAGS Committee serves as an advisory committee composed of nine elected officers. Five appointed subcommittee chairs work closely with the APAGS Committee by participating in the business meetings and discussions of the committee. As an advisory group, the APAGS Committee offers comments on APA policies, guidelines, and procedures.
The nine elected APAGS officers include a chair, past chair, and chair-elect, as well as six members-at-large.
There are five APAGS subcommittees:
- Committee for the Advancement of Racial and Ethnic Diversity (CARED)
- Advocacy Coordinating Team (ACT)
- Committee on Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (CSOGD)
- Convention Committee
- Science Committee
Each subcommittee has six or more members, including both a chair and a vice chair.
Time commitment and responsibilities
Members-at-large and subcommittee members serve for 2-year terms from January 1 of the year immediately after their election or appointment to December 31 of the following year. Subcommittee vice chairs also serve 2-year terms from January 1 to December 31, serving as vice chair during their first year, and subcommittee chair during their second year.
We recognize that individual needs and bandwidths may vary across leaders and through life changes. APAGS leadership values creating spaces and flexibility for those who are passionate about serving our field but may not hold time privilege in other spaces. To this point, approximate average monthly time commitments for each position are listed below. Please keep in mind specific APAGS initiatives and periods of the year (e.g., convention) may require additional hours to accomplish time-sensitive goals:
- APAGS Executive Committee (chair, past chair, chair-elect): 10–15 hours a month
- APAGS members-at-large: 4–6 hours a month
- Subcommittee Chairs: 4–6 hours a month
- Subcommittee Vice-chairs: 3-5 hours a month
- Subcommittee Members: 3–5 hours a month
Members of the APAGS Committee and appointed subcommittee chairs are required to attend a yearly Spring Consolidated Business meetings during their term (held either hybrid or in-person, in Washington, DC, in March), as well as virtual business meetings held typically every other month through the year. Members must be willing to dedicate the necessary time to sufficiently prepare for these meetings and provide follow-up. Members are also expected to liaise with other boards and committees as assigned, which may require separate virtual meetings, and to communicate regularly over a closed committee email list. Committee members are expected to work on projects related to APAGS' yearly workplan, as approved by the APAGS Committee and as assigned by the APAGS Committee chair and staff.
Members of the subcommittees have a different set of duties described below.
All applicants are encouraged to consult with an advisor or other faculty mentor to confirm their support and willingness to allow time away from academic responsibilities to attend meetings and to meet obligations to APAGS.
Things to consider before applying
Participation in APAGS leadership is a rewarding and fantastic professional development experience. Leaders will have numerous opportunities to learn the inner workings of APA and APAGS as well as network with various stakeholders who are involved within the organization. The elected and appointed positions offered within APAGS are voluntary and primarily service-oriented.
While leadership opportunities are voluntary and certain responsibilities are flexible, there is an expected level of commitment and dedication towards the successful fulfillment of one’s roles within the term (e.g., attending mandatory meetings, typically during East Coast business hours, submitting reports, liaising to other subcommittees within APAGS, responding to emails within 72 hours, writing commentaries, initiating/contributing to webinars,, podcasts, social media content, etc.).
Should you wish to apply, we advise taking into consideration and reflecting on academic, professional, and personal responsibilities and journeys for the term you intend to serve. Some questions to ponder include:
- Is this the right time in your academic career to serve?
- Will this commitment, coupled with other important milestones (e.g., internship, dissertation), impact your ability to be successful in all tasks?
- Are you comfortable working within a professional organization that operates more like a business or a not-for-profit than typical student-led organizations?
- Do you have the mental and emotional bandwidth to prioritize your commitment to represent the psychology community?
Election of APAGS committee members
Elections are held annually for the chair-elect position and vacant member-at-large positions. A call for applications is released each summer. APAGS members vote online for these positions in late fall via a personalized series of emails over the period of about 1 month, sent to each APAGS member. The opportunity to vote includes all graduate student affiliates of APA, along with any other student who upgraded their membership level to APAGS.
Appointment of subcommittee chairs and vice-chairs
Subcommittee chairs and vice-chairs are not elected, but appointed, because the work of each APAGS subcommittee requires particular experience and expertise in specific areas for which regular members of APAGS may be unlikely to have. A call for subcommittee chair and vice-chair applications is released each summer.
Appointment of subcommittee members
Similarly, because each APAGS subcommittee requires particular experience and expertise in specific areas for which regular members of APAGS may be unlikely to have, subcommittee member applications are reviewed and candidates are appointed by a selection committee upon reviewing recommendations from the subcommittee chair (in consultation with the outgoing chair, if any). A call for subcommittee member applications is released each summer.
Interested applicants can find specific application procedures and deadlines for all positions.
Eligibility
Applicants must be current master’s or doctoral students* in good standing at a regionally accredited institution at the time of application, studying psychology or a related field. (*To be eligible for APAGS chair-elect, applicants must be enrolled specifically in a doctoral program in psychology. All other positions are open to students in master’s programs.)
Applicants must have at least one academic year remaining in a graduate program once they start their term.
Additionally, applicants must be:
- An APAGS member at the time of applying
- Organized, responsive, efficient, and responsible
- Able to work collaboratively and cooperatively as a member of a team, including with APA’s professional staff members who support the committee
- Willing to commit to a busy term lasting 24 months (36 for chair-elect) to work on behalf of the needs and interests of APAGS and APAGS members
- Willing to meet virtually (typically monthly) and primarily during normal business hours (9 am-5 pm) for the East Coast, where APA is headquartered
- Willing to represent a professional organization (APA/APAGS) and to follow both APAGS operating procedures as well as APA bylaws and association rules.
For subcommittee chair, subcommittee vice-chair, and subcommittee member positions, you must demonstrate interest and/or experience in the substantive area of the respective subcommittee to which you are applying.
Election rules for elected positions
To prevent APAGS electronic media from being overwhelmed by members promoting their candidacy during the election cycle, APAGS has the following rules for the use of electronic media:
- Do not use APAGS email lists or APAGS official pages/groups on social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram) for advertising your candidacy.
- Violation of this rule may result in being disqualified from the election.
- During the election cycle, APAGS will distribute emails that provide all candidates with a chance to make a statement for election. This is meant to ensure fair access to all electronic media during the election cycle.
The Executive Committee (EC) works as a unit to advise, guide, and consult with the full APAGS committee, with the chair taking the lead during their tenure. The EC acts as a steering committee for APAGS and is responsible for developing priorities and charges to committee members consistent with the goals of APAGS. The EC presides over the full APAGS committee and acts on behalf of the committee. In addition, the chair concurrently serves on the APA Council Leadership Team and the APA Council of Representatives for one year, and the past chair concurrently serves on the APA Board of Directors.
The chair-elect position starts on January 1 for one year. The chair-elect becomes chair in year two and past chair in year three. Significant additional APA roles are added in years two and three as described below. In the months between elections and the start of one’s term, the incoming chair-elect will be invited for a nonvoting role on the committee.
Chair tasks
The chair works closely with APAGS staff to:
- Take the primary lead in the EC presiding over the APAGS Committee.
- Oversee and prioritize issues for all business meetings.
- Conduct the fall and spring APAGS business meetings and committee conference calls.
- Set the agenda for monthly EC conference calls.
- Serve as the primary APAGS point of contact for other APA and affiliated groups, fielding questions and requests, and representing the collective voice of APAGS to these other APA and affiliated entities.
- Serve as an ex-officio member of all APAGS subcommittees, task forces, and work groups (i.e., they may participate in related conference calls and other meetings).
- Make official charges to the committee for priorities based on constituency needs/interests, strategic plan, and larger charges made by APA.
- Field requests for other APA student groups to establish linkages to APAGS.
- Make appointments for the subcommittee, task force, and work group chairs, in consultation with the EC.
- Make appointments for official liaisonships, in consultation with the EC.
- Serve concurrently on the APA Council Leadership Team and the APA Council of Representatives, which includes approximately 1–2 trips to Washington, DC, or other locations (full travel reimbursement provided).
- Report on EC, chair, and official liaison activities to the full APAGS Committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.
Past chair tasks
The past chair works closely with APAGS staff to:
- Serve as a consultant to the chair in performing the above duties.
- Serve as a mentor to the chair-elect in performing their duties and in preparation for their transition to chair in the following year.
- Oversee and coordinate the annual elections and appointment process.
- Serve concurrently on the APA Board of Directors, which includes approximately five trips to Washington, DC, or other locations (small monetary compensation and full travel reimbursement provided) for Board meetings, Council of Representatives meetings, retreats, and so forth.
- Report on past chair and official liaison activities to the full APAGS committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.
Chair-elect tasks
The chair-elect works closely with APAGS staff to:
- Participate in all EC activities to prepare for their chair year.
- Serve as an official liaison for some of the established APAGS liaisonships, internal and external to APA. Sometimes the chair-elect will take on a relatively greater number of these liaison roles to help acclimate themselves to the work of the subcommittees, task forces, and working groups.
- Report on chair-elect and official liaison activities to the full APAGS committee via the committee email list and at APAGS business meetings.
Members-at-large are elected by the APAGS membership to advocate on behalf of APA’s graduate students.
All members-at-large have the opportunity to participate broadly in the activities of APAGS, but specifically are tasked with responding to calls for comments by both internal and external groups, being members of the Elections workgroup, and holding liaison positions to other APA committees (see more details below). Beyond these tasks, the role of a member-at-large is deliberately open-ended to allow for creative leaders to actively support APAGS' yearly workplan, as well as advance the current APAGS and APA strategic plans and priorities.
General tasks required of every member-at-large
- Lead, support, and collaborate on projects advancing the APAGS workplan and Strategic Priorities.
- Work very closely and collaboratively with APA staff and other members of the APAGS committee and subcommittees on projects as they arise.
- Comment on proposed APA policies, providing the unique student perspective on drafts in progress.
- Participate in working groups, grant review committees, and the elections committee.
- Prepare for and attend spring and fall APAGS business meetings. The spring meeting is hybrid or fully in-person in Washington, DC, with expenses covered by APA. The fall meeting is virtual. The locations/platforms of these meetings may change depending on the circumstances.
- Formally liaise with other APA and external governance groups as assigned.
- Mentor incoming member-at-large person(s) directly after their election(s) are verified. This mentoring piece is critical to the continued smooth and effective functioning of the APAGS committee when the member-at-large term ends.
New subcommittee chairs and vice chairs will be mentored by their predecessor as soon as appointments are announced and are expected to work collaboratively in the final months of the outgoing chair’s or vice chair’s term. Mentoring is especially important for the APAGS subcommittee chairs and vice chairs because their roles require particular expertise in the specified areas.
Each subcommittee chair is responsible for reviewing applications and recommending their own vice-chair and subcommittee members, pending approval by the Elections Committee. Outgoing chairs will work closely to review and provide feedback on the incoming chair’s recommendations.
Universal responsibilities for all subcommittee chairs
- Lead a subcommittee of six or more members on specific ongoing and emerging projects to support the mission of the subcommittee, APAGS, and APA.
- Solicit, recruit, and evaluate applicants for subcommittee vice-chair and member positions.
- Participate in the selection process of the next subcommittee chair and vice-chair, and provide mentoring to those individuals.
- Orient new committee members, including new vice-chairs.
- Conduct monthly committee conference calls, or as needed.
- Prepare for and attend (in-person/virtual) spring and fall APAGS committee business meetings. The spring meeting is hybrid or fully in-person in Washington, DC, with expenses covered by APA for the chair position if the meeting is in-person. Vice-chairs are invited to attend virtually, but no funding is available for their travel to this meeting if in-person. The fall meeting is virtual for everyone. The locations or platforms of these meetings may change depending on the circumstances.
- Report on subcommittee projects, as well as official liaisonship activities. Typically, 1-2 liaison positions are assigned to the chair and vice chair, often to committees relevant to the subcommittee’s work.
- Develop a yearly subcommittee-focused work plan, with the assistance of APAGS staff.
- Participate in working groups and award review committees, as requested by the APAGS EC.
- Collaborate with the APAGS Chair and the rest of the APAGS committee in determining priorities for the subcommittee, considering the availability of resources to support those activities.
- Work very closely and collaboratively with APAGS staff who serve as advisors and guides to APAGS leaders.
For specific duties and past activities associated with each subcommittee, please see each subcommittee’s webpage:
Subcommittee members are appointed to serve on one of five APAGS subcommittees for a 2-year term. Every member is expected to work closely with APAGS staff and to:
- Participate in monthly subcommittee conference calls, or as scheduled.
- Communicate regularly via a closed email list.
- Develop, implement, and execute subcommittee-specific projects to further the work and mission of the subcommittee and APAGS.
- Review grant applications.
- Review and prepare public comments for proposed APA policies and guidelines.
- Inform APAGS of graduate student needs and concerns.
- Promote APAGS to peers.
- Support the strategic direction of APAGS as a part of APA.
- Be accountable for projects and deadlines as negotiated with the chair.