Div. 20 (Adult Development and Aging)
End of Year Executive Committee Meeting
Saturday, August 14, 2021
8:00 – 9:30 am PST
Via Zoom
In attendance: Lisa Brown, Joann Montepare, Rowena Gomez, Jennifer Margrett, Courtney Polenick, Grace Caskie, Susan Whitborne, Maggie Syme, Jeanine Parisi, Tammy English, Kelly Cichy, Jennifer Birdsall, Walter Boot, Soomi Lee, Julie Blasekewicz Boron, Nancy Sin, Emily Behrens, Neil Charness
Welcome and Overview
Div. 20 President Brown welcomed members and reviewed the agenda for this virtual meeting.
Program Committee
(Julie Blasekewicz Boron and Maggie Syme reporting) – Julie and Maggie thanked the Executive Committee for their support of the virtual programming at APA this year. There was a great slate of programs featuring early, mid-career, and senior members. Please send any feedback on the division programming or suggestions for changes to consider for next year to Julie or Maggie.
Treasurer’s Report
(Grace Caskie reporting) – Similar to the last meeting, the Div. 20 funds are in good shape. There have not been many expenses other than the awards, so we have more funds than usual at this time. However, the cost of division services went up this year, which is something to keep in mind as we move forward with financial planning.
APF Fund for Div. 20
(Susan Whitborne reporting) – We have been in touch with APF, and we are still short on what we need for this fund. We do have some pledges for the 75th Anniversary, but additional pledges or donations would be appreciated either online or using the form. Donors may also call Miriam to donate over the phone. The donations can be set up as a recurring payment.
Age-Friendly University
(Joann Montepare reporting) – There are now over 80 institutions in the AFU network, with several other institutions in the process of joining. Over half of these institutions are in the United States. Recent activities include D20 endorsement of the AFU initiative, an APA AFU symposium presentation, and a recently funded APA BEA grant for a virtual teaching workshop. Over 100 educators registered to discuss barriers and share their teaching materials with aging-related content. More information regarding the workshop and a Teaching Tips special issue will be posted on the Div. 20 website. Joann, Rowena Gomez, and Harvey Sterns are also planning a CODAPAR needs assessment study of APA division members around age-friendly retirement issues. As incoming president, Joann would like to establish an AFU workgroup on the Executive Committee to develop a strategy for Div. 20 AFU activities and to focus on ways to make APA more age friendly and involve the other divisions in these efforts.
Council Report
(Susan Whitbourne and Maggie Syme reporting) – Susan and Maggie provided updates about council activities, which included competencies for master’s programs, a working group to revise doctoral competencies, discussions about potential term limits, and the upcoming presidential election.
Membership Committee
(Soomi Lee reporting, Nicholas Turiano, and Charissa Hosseini) – There was an increase in new members this year, particularly among student members. We were generally able to retain these new members. There was a decrease, however, in renewed memberships. The committee plans to consider strategies to retain members in the upcoming year, especially student members.
Fellowship Committee
(Walter Boot reporting, and Toni Wroolie) – We discussed the potential value of posting information on how to become a fellow of the division on our website, along with including this information in an upcoming newsletter. We could also advertise an office hour to go over questions about the application process in the newsletter. In addition, it might be helpful to provide instructions and an example template for people who write letters of support for fellowship applications. Finally, it may be beneficial to report outcomes of becoming a fellow to encourage more fellowship applications. GSA may have data on their own fellowship outcomes if APA does not have these data.
Awards Committee
(Jeanine Parisi and Jennifer Birdsall reporting) – Jeanine and Jennifer thanked the reviewers and award applicants. A total of 24 award applications were submitted this year, which is up from 19 award applications last year. This year, the committee was more proactive about reaching out to colleagues. The application process was highly competitive with many great applications. In addition to the business meeting, awardees will be highlighted in the newsletter and on the division website. Jeanine will be transitioning off of the committee, and Jennifer will be leading the team for the upcoming year.
Education Committee
(Kelly Cichy reporting, and Kaci Fairchild) – In addition to the committee activities outlined in the submitted report, Kelly reminded the Executive Committee that teaching tips are needed for the Fall newsletter. September 1, 2021 is the deadline. Please contact Kelly with any recommendations.
Elections Committee
(Nancy Sin reporting, Lisa Lind, and Tammy English) – Nancy reported the results of our recent division elections. The number of members who voted was comparable to last year’s elections.
Early Career Task Force – Mentor Matching Program
(Rowena Gomez reporting, Yin Liu, and Victoria Guinn) – This year, the Mentor Matching Program recruited 48 mentees and 20 mentors, with a total of 41 mentor/mentee dyads. Some potential mentees could not be matched, but many mentors were willing to be matched with multiple mentees. Overall, the feedback from this year’s cohort was highly positive among both mentors and mentees. Next year, we will try to recruit more mentors from diverse backgrounds in response to suggestions from several mentees. To minimize the number of mentees who do not initiate contact and the number of mentors who do not respond, we will also require mentors and mentees to confirm their interest in participating prior to being matched.
Early Career Task Force – Special Interest Groups
(Emily Behrens reporting, Shelley Condon, Nicole DePasquale, Briana Sprague, and Kyrsten Costlow) – There are currently 18 active special interest groups (SIGs) in the division, which include more than 200 members. There are several new activities planned for the upcoming year, including a conference call with all SIG leaders and continued meetings with these leaders. There are also plans to provide more information about the SIGs on the division website. In addition, the committee hopes it will be possible for people to sign up for SIGs when they become a member of Div. 20.
Social Media and Communications
(Grace Caskie and Joann Montepare reporting, Frank Infurna, and Toni Bisconti) – The next newsletter deadline is September 1, 2021. Julie Blasekewicz Boron will be serving as co-editor of the newsletter in the upcoming year. Grace noted that it would be a good idea to contact the new student representatives to ask them if they would like to prepare anything for the next newsletter. In addition, please let Grace or Julie know if anyone else is interested in writing a feature article (1,000 words).
With regard to other social media and communications activities, student representatives may be able to help with designing new graphics for the division website. We also may be able to make better use of the listserv to highlight division activities, including those of the Mentor Matching Program and SIGs. Posting to the division listserv would also allow all members to learn more about these activities.
Last, it was noted that there has been very little activity overall in terms of social media, and this was identified as an area in need of improvement. One idea was to involve student representatives as a way to improve our social media communication. We could also better utilize our social media accounts to advertise division events and activities.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:30 am PST.
Respectfully submitted,
Courtney A. Polenick (email)
Div. 20 Secretary
Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
University of Michigan Medical School