President’s column: Convention issue

Many things have been happending since our last newsletter. John Dagley was appointed to be a Monitor from the Society to APA’s Committee on Socioeconomic Status.

Two book prospectuses were submitted to a publisher, and we should hear from them soon. If or when they are published, the Society will receive part of the royalties as reported at the midwinter meeting.

Several bylaw changes have been proposed. The first was to allow electronic voting, which was submitted to the membership, and approved. The other proposed bylaw changes were approved at the midwinter meeting and are being voted on by the membership now (the deadline for votes is Aug. 5, 2012). Those changes are to make the Development and Foundation Committees standing committees and to incorporate the ad hoc Research Committee into the mission and title of the Education and Training Committee.

An article about the Society appeared in the March 2012 Monitor. It was about the establishment of grant funding for the Society through the American Psychological Foundation. You’ll hear more about this from the Foundation Report by Jean Keim, who heads this initiative.

The Society will also be featured in the July/August Monitor. I was interviewed for the story and provided the writer with other members as resources and contacts for the article. This article is in response to the omission of group therapy/psychotherapy from the article on moving away from one-on-one psychotherapy, and is focused on the effectiveness and efficiency of evidence-based group therapy.

The Society’s convention program is shaping up to be informative and exciting, and we hope to see you there. See page 5 of this issue (and be sure to vist our website) for the schedule. Many thanks go to Janice DeLucia-Waack and Cheri Marmamosh, the program committee’s co-chairs, and to the many others who served as reviewers or provided other assistance.

Among the many offerings we’d like you to attend are the address by Sally Barlow, Group Psychologist of the Year, on Saturday (4 p.m.-4:50 p.m.); the Presidential Address (2 p.m.-2:50 pm) and Business Meeting (3 p.m.-3:50 p.m.), both on Friday; and the Society’s Social on Friday (6 p.m.-9 p.m.). New and special this year is the Early Career Psychologists (ECP) breakfast, organized by Leann Terry and Joe Miles, and we extend many thanks to them for making all of the arrangements. See you in Orlando, and be sure to display the division ribbon.