Minutes of the Division 47 Midwinter Meeting

The Division 47 Midwinter Meeting was held at the University of Illinois-Chicago Jan. 7-8, 2012

Executive committee members present for the meeting included: Gloria Balague (President), Trent Petrie (President-Elect) Jennifer Carter (Past- President), Jack Watson (Member-at-Large), Mark Aoyagi (Member-at-Large), Doug Hankes (Secretary-Treasurer), Anthony Kontos (Program Chair), Steve Portenga (Newsletter Editor), Heather Ciesielski (President, Running Psychologists), Cassie Pasquariello (Student Representative), Justine Chatterton (Student Representative). Karen Cogan (Council Representative) was absent.

Jan. 7, 2012

President Gloria Balague called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m. executive committee members were introduced.

Mission, Values, Roles and Goals

An open discussion occurred and focused on what were perceived to be the major issues in the field of sport and exercise psychology and potential actions steps to address them. The content on the current Division 47 Website was studied to explore what issues were already being addressed. The sport psychology proficiency was discussed, and there was a consensus that the proficiency needed to be more prominently displayed and explained on the Website. Discussion continued comparing APA’s proficiency versus specialization standards and whether Division 47 should consider pursuing a specialization in sport psychology. Finally, the Division 47 mission statement was discussed and eventually revised. The EC agreed to table the mission statement over night to allow further discussion and contemplation.

Descriptions of all standing committee were reviewed.

Standing Committee Reports

Membership Committee: Related to the EC discussion on the mission, values, roles and goals of Division 47, it was suggested that a survey be created to ask current Division 47 members for their input on these same topics. The membership committee and its EC liaison (Trent Petrie) were charged with developing a survey in conjunction with APA Member Services. The role and scope of social media within this committee and Division 47 was discussed and then delayed until after the social media presentation scheduled for later in the midwinter meeting.

Public Interest Committee: The PI Committee has been very active this year. A concussion article was submitted to Division 47’s journal, outreach projects occurred at the APA 2011 Convention to increase diversity in the membership, and flyers were sent to HBCs, psychology departments, Division 2, and early career professionals about sport and exercise psychology. The EC noted that 2012 is an Olympic year, and the Division could take advantage of the interest in sport psychology. Two action items were suggested for the committee: 1) work on brief articles for the Division 47 website and the APA Monitor; and 2) disseminate information to other divisions about the Sport Psychology Proficiency. A NATA collaboration was discussed. The mission of the annual Giveaway-a-thon was discussed as there has been inconsistent attendance at recent conventions.

Education Committee: It was noted that there had been inconsistent participation by Education Committee members and discussion ensued as to how to recruit for and reinvigorate the committee. The list of critical readings in sport and exercise psychology will be updated and posted on the Division 47 website. The Education Committee requested guidance of the EC to assist them in contributing more toward collecting and disseminating information on graduate program curricula and increasing the usefulness of the Proficiency.

Practice Committee: The Practice Committee has worked on a number of initiatives including a paper defining sport and performance psychology, collaboration and discussion with the NCAA regarding rules specific to the provision of sport psychology services, and collaboration with AASP on certification and credentialing issues. Specific to the paper defining sport and performance psychology, the EC was not prepared to provide support until Division 47’s mission was revisited. The authors of the paper will pursue publication independently. Future issues include a discussion of pursuing a specialty in sport psychology within APA. A proposal for a competency conference consistent with NIH guidelines was discussed. The practice committee chair, Steve Portenga, reported that the committee was making a grant request to APA to partially fund the conference. Portenga stated that he would report back to the EC when he heard a final decision from APA.

Motion made by Trent Petrie to charge Portenga, with the backing of the EC, to formally approach APA about co-sponsoring a conference on competencies. Division 47 would match the grant funds provided by the APA if the request was approved. Motion seconded by Jennifer Carter. Motion passed unanimously.

Science Committee: The Science Committee reported that five dissertations had been received for review for the Dissertation Award. There was discussion to move the dissertation deadline in order to select an award winner in time for the name of the winner and the title of the presentation to be listed in the APA program. Ideas to assist early career professionals were discussed (e.g., seed grants).

Program Chair Report: Program Chair, Anthony Kontos, reported that the number of submissions declined this year. 23 program slots were filled. It was noted that there was a decrease in submissions in most APA divisions this year. Submission reviewers were thanked. As Kontos leaves the EC, he offered several suggestions for future program chairs including conference collaborations (e.g., NATA), publication of award lectures in the new Division 47 journal, and more thematic programming. The EC commended Kontos for his excellent work as the program chair.

Social Media Presentation

At the request of President Balague, Shannon Bryant-Hankes was invited to the midwinter meeting to present on social media strategy and how Division 47 might incorporate it. The presentation, “Understanding Social Media,” included information about different platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Wordpress Blogs, Hootsuite, Foursquare, and LinkedIn), strategic campaigns, social media policy, best practices and social media metrics. Meeting was adjourned at 5:35 p.m.

Jan. 8, 2012

President Gloria Balague called the meeting to order at 8:45 a.m.

Action item: Past-President Jennifer Carter agreed to work on Division 47’s social media strategy and social media policy. She was charged to create a Division 47 Facebook fan page and a Twitter account.

Bylaws Modifications Outcome

Jennifer Carter reported that the bylaws modification request that the student representative become an elected EC position was approved.

Secretary-Treasurer’s Report

Doug Hankes presented the EC with the past year’s Division 47 financial statement. Current cash (held in an APA checking account) is $7,562.07. Current short term investment amount is $32,118.91. The short term investment has remained nearly unchanged from last year. Secretary-Treasurer discussion with the APA Business Office indicated that the current reserves held in the short-term investment account are adequate but should not be used for any new initiatives.

Current invoices are up-to-date, however, there are several outstanding bills that have not been paid. It was noted that the 2011 budget was based on the 2010 budget. The Division 47 2011 expenditures ($16,046.74) in 2011 were nearly equivalent to the division’s total income generated ($16,060.75). Due to time constraints, the 2012 budget was not discussed in depth at the mid-winter meeting. It was agreed that the 2012 budget would be addressed in a line-item fashion during the next EC conference call. A request was made to consider a young professionals initiative that would include a small stipend. This will be discussed during the next EC conference call.

Discussion ensued regarding what Dissertation Award winners have received in past years. It became apparent that past ECs had not been consistent in the awards and suggestions were discussed to remedy this issue.

Motion made by Gloria Balague that the Dissertation Award winner receive $250 and have their convention registration fee waived. Motion seconded by Cassie Pasquariello. Motion passed unanimously.

Motion made by Jack Watson to drop the text in the Policy and Procedures Manual that read that the Dissertation Award winner receive a one-year membership in APA. The motion was seconded by Jennifer Carter. Motion was passed unanimously.

Motion made by Jack Watson every effort will be made to include a student member and an early career professional on Division 47 standing committees. The motion was seconded by Mark Aoyagi. Motion passed unanimously.

Website

Mark Aoyagi discussed the current state of the website and requested any suggestions from the EC to improve it. Discussion ensued and a number of suggestions for better organization and content were made. New content for the Website does not need to be formally approved by the EC, but the EC should be informed of proposed changes. Energized by the social media presentation, additional discussion on social media and Website policy occurred.

Student Representative Report

Increased student presence on the Division 47 website was discussed including a separate tab on the home page. The student representatives are working with the editor of the new journal to streamline the process for students to be involved in the article review process. Discussion occurred how to increase the ways for students to be nominated (e.g., self-nominated, nominated by others, EC nominated) for an EC position. This generated a larger discussion about nominations for other EC positions. Jack Watson was charged to work on this issue. The student representatives will work with Jennifer Carter on the social media strategy. Discussion also occurred how the division could be more welcoming to new members. President Gloria Balague acknowledged the student representatives’ hard work in the past year.

Nominations and Awards

Jennifer Carter announced the Bruce Ogilvie Award nominee.

Nominations were discussed for the EC positions that will become open this year. Those voting positions included president-elect, member-at-large, council representative, and junior student representative.

Nominations were also discussed for the non-voting program chair position. Carter will contact individuals who were nominated to find out their willingness to run as candidates for office.

Running Psychologists Report

Heather Ciesielski reported that the 2011 Ray’s Race was effectively run and within budget. She noted that finding sponsorships had not been as successful as previous years, but a plan is in place to increase sponsorships for the 2012 race. Race results were announced. Ciesielski is currently researching different running clubs in the Orlando area who could serve as race organizers for the 2012 race. Division 47 description and membership information will be placed in race packets next year.

Policy and Procedures Manual

Motion made by Gloria Balague to set the term for professional members on committees at three years. In the event a committee member moves to chair of the committee, they will be eligible for an additional three-year term. The term limits for Student Representatives will be set at one year with the option of an additional one-year term if they remain a student member of the organization. Motion seconded by Jennifer Carter. Motion passed unanimously.

Jack Watson will make changes in the P&P related to the recent By-Laws changes. Watson will also draft language concerning the new journal and editor responsibilities for the P&P. Watson will also draft language for the P&P regarding the motion passed related to standing committee terms to be approved by the EC.

Motion made by Trent Petrie to change the language in the P&P regarding Division 47 presenter attendance to be consistent with APA guidelines. Motion seconded by Jack Watson. Motion passed unanimously.

Other Business

The EC acknowledged and thanked Shannon Bryant-Hankes for her presentation on social media.

The EC acknowledged and thanked the University of Illinois-Chicago Department of Psychology for their accommodations and hospitality.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.