The APA Council of Representatives held its first virtual meeting during the virtual APA convention in Washington, D.C., in August 2020.
Most newsworthy are the actions that were taken, all of which are reported here:
- Council voted 99 percent approval to accept a new COVID-19 policy/position statement that was developed collaboratively over the last few months by boards and council members. It includes important sections on children and families and education.
- Council voted 98 percent approval to send to APA membership a proposed bylaw. amendment to add representatives from Ethnic Minority Psychological Associations (EMPAS) as voting members of COR (or continue with delegates if they desire); 95 percent voted against pro/con statements to accompany this–fearing it would undermine the nearly unanimous support. The five EMPAS covered by the proposed bylaws amendment are the American Arab, Middle Eastern and North African Psychological Association; the Asian American Psychological Association; Association of Black Psychologists; National Latinx Psychological Association; and the Society of Indian Psychologists.
- 100 percent of council approved receiving a report of the Workgroup on Enhancing Council’s Effectiveness (which analyzed table feedback from the February Council meeting). The report outlines recommendations on how the council can more effectively carry out its role to direct and inform policy, and advance APA’s strategic priorities, through an inclusive and collaborative approach reflecting a wide range of perspectives. Further action from the Council Leadership Team will follow up on recommendations in this report. (Eric Butter, chief of psychology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, has just been elected the new chair-elect of Council Leadership Team.)
- Approximately 72 percent of council members voted approval to send to APA membership a proposed bylaw amendment to provide a new membership category in APA for graduate students (after one year of enrollment) with privileges for voting APA president-elect and board member-at-large elections and the bylaw amendment and apportionment ballots. (This is roughly the same majority as last year.) However, once again, this will be accompanied by pro/con statements, which had a deleterious impact on passage last year.
The following items may also be of interest:
- APA had been planning financial adjustments to bring the budget into balance prior to the pandemic, including RIF’s that occurred this spring. The budget is stable, aided by reductions in operating costs during telework and no travel for APA meetings; there was no significant financial penalty or net loss due to cancelling the in-person convention. But there is concern about potential future losses due to the pandemic (e.g., university journal subscriptions). In-person meetings (e.g., boards/committees, council) are expected to be on hold. The 2021 convention will be decided in the second fiscal quarter and is likely to include a virtual component no matter what.
- APA is convening a new advisory group on health equity and solicited nominations from membership.
- A proposal for “Modernization of APA Bylaws” was out for public comment through August 31. Importantly, this had implications for changing (1) the structure of Council; (2) the nature of boards and committees; and (3) divisions—by moving these out of bylaws requiring member votes and into Association Rules requiring council (rather than APA member) votes. It has since been decided that this proposal will be delayed due to the critical health/societal issues that volunteer leaders are working to address.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or desire more information regarding any of these actions. All APA members are able to access the Council of Representatives agenda booklogin required.