It is with great pleasure and pride that I write about the many accomplishments of the Division since the fall. All aspects of the Division have been extremely busy, and our reputation continues to grow inside APA. I would like to highlight several noteworthy achievements of our members, and preview a few coming attractions.

One of our most important initiatives involves the process of obtaining official recognition of Geropsychology as a ìproficiencyî from the Committee for Recognition of Specialties and Proficiencies in Professional Psychology. Barry Edelstein, George Niederehe, and Linda Teri are heading the effort along with other members of the Division (along with Section IIóClinical Geropsychology of Division 12). This credentialing process is very important for practitioners who work with older adults, as it relates directly to training, education, and reimbursement issues. The plan is to apply for the ìproficiencyî this spring; we will keep you posted on developments.

I am also pleased to tell you that Division 20 has two participants in the Education Directorateís Teaching Roundtable: Susan Krauss Whitbourne and John Cavanaugh. This group is discussing ways in which the Directorate can be more proactive in fostering good teaching from the secondary level through postdoctoral education. Jill Reich, Executive Director of the Education Directorate, attended the Divisionís November Executive Board meeting and heaped high praise on us for our exemplary efforts in promoting teaching through our syllabus and related projects on the Web as well as our continuing series of teaching symposia at the annual convention. Through the efforts of Rosemary Blieszner, we are also exploring options for publishing some of the recent papers in this series. Cynthia Berg has yet another excellent symposium planned for the upcoming convention.

Key Division leaders have participated in APA leadership and planning meetings this winter. President-Elect Joan Erber attended the APA Division Leadership Conference, and Program Chair Jane Berry participated in the program Chairs meeting. We can look forward to great things from both of them. Jane has an especially exciting program in store for you in Chicagoóin addition to an excellent Divisional program, aging will be the focus of APA President Norman Abelesí Presidential Miniconvention, which Sara Qualls helped organize. And Rachel Whitmer, the graduate student representative on the Executive Board, is busy planning several sessions specifically for students at the Chicago convention. Aging will also play a prominent role in other aspects of the APA program, making the 1997 meeting the best ever for the Division! Plan now to make Chicago a Division 20 kind of town!

Michael Marsiske truly deserves our gratitude for the terrific job he continues to do with our e-mail network and the Web page. If you are not yet a member of the e-mail network, send Michael a message to sign up. The Web site is one of the most comprehensive and useful in APA. If your department or organization has a home page, please consider getting it linked to the Divisionís home page. Contact Michael for more details. Lisa Jenkins, the postdoctoral representative on the Executive Board, is working on creating a listserv for students.

Division 20 membership continues to increase thanks to the efforts of Membership Chair Lisa McGuire and each of you for being strong advocates of the Division. We currently have about 2,000 regular and student members. The APA Ad Hoc Committee on Issues of the Older Adult continues to be hard at work; M. Powell Lawton reports that the group is nearing completion on a mission statement and guidelines for membership.

The Retirement Research Foundation continues to support Division activities. Funding for our major student awards competition for completed and proposed research, as well as continuing education programs are funded through this organization. The Springer Publishing Company plans to continue funding our young scholar award. Such recognition of emerging scholars is an important way for the Division to ensure the continuity of excellence.

Several important issues will be confronting us in the coming months. For those of us in higher education settings, advocacy continues to be important. In addition to issues concerning research funding, a major item this year is the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (which provides the authorization for the major sources of federal student aid). APAís Public Policy Office has created a Public Policy Action Network (PPAN) to keep members informed of developments; contact Patricia Kobor (science advocacy) and Nina Levitt (education advocacy) for more details.

Beginning this year in the Spring newsletter, we will be providing information about the candidates for our major leadership positions in an effort to inform you about the achievements of the individuals who have agreed to run for office. We hope you will find these useful at election time.

In closing, I wish all of you in the colder climes a warming trend, and I hope all of you enjoy the beginning of spring. If you have any thoughts or ideas about the Division or how we can serve you better, please contact me. Please also pass this newsletter to a student or colleague, and encourage them to join!

To direct comments about the information contained in these pages, please write to marsiske@ufl.edu