November 18, 1995
Thank you to Cameron Camp for submitting these minutes for Ron Abeles, Secretary, Division 20, who was unable to attend the meeting because of the government shutdown.
Susan Krauss Whitbourne (President) chaired the meeting and members and quests attending were Rosemary Blieszner, Cyndi Berg, Cameron Camp, John Cavanaugh, Roger Dixon, Tom Hess, Karen Hooker, Lisa Jenkins, Peter Lichtenberg, Michael Marsiske, Denise Park, Richard Shulz, Anderson Smith, Mary Ann Paris Stephens, Rachel Whitmer, and Steven Zarit.
Minutes of the August 12, 1995 Executive Board meeting were approved.
Cameron Camp reported that there was a healthy surplus ($17,000) in the Division's budget, and a balanced budget for fiscal year 1996 was projected.
Michael Marsiske, Network Coordinator for the Division discussed the possibility of creating a WWW page for Division 20. (This has since been accomplished.) Topics can include members in the news, a listing of texts on adult development and aging, etc. Committee chairs will help monitor information, a subcommittee will monitor initial input, and Dr. Marsiske will serve as the last QA person.
Karen Hooker will review the Division's membership to help Dr. Marsiske to determine how many non-members of the Division are listed in the E-Mail Network (directory) that is maintained by the Division. Once the non-members are identified, they will be invited to join the Division.
Steve Zarit reported that over the past year, a Penn State post-cod had developed a comprehensive document describing resources for clinical geropsychologists. After some discussion, it was decided that Dr. Zarit would contact the Practice Directorate of APA to determine if they would help defray expenses for printing and distributing the document.
Rich Shulz reported that there had been some confusion regarding the student awards last year. Steps would be taken to insure a wide distribution of information to advisors and students to increase the number of proposals submitted for next year.
The 1996 APA Convention will mark the celebration of the 50th year of Division 20's existence. To help celebrate the occasion, Tom Hess was asked to help plan an appropriate function. Upon his suggestion, it was decided that the Division would host a Harbor Cruise. Reservations would be made for 100 people. After discussion, it was decided that there would be a discounted ticket price for student members.
Denise Park gave a report on APA Council meeting activities. Much of the content of her report was presented in the Fall, 1995 Division 20 Newsletter (p.4). Of special importance was discussion concerning the difference in the relationship between APA and it divisions versus their relationship between APA and its State Associations. This could lead to the status of divisions with the APA becoming an issue in the future. She also noted that the election of Norm Abeles to the presidency of APA meant that aging issues should become a focal point of his presidency. She also praised the work of the Science Directorate and reiterated the need for scientists to stay involved in APA activities.
Rosemary Blieszner noted that there was an increasing number of requests for information on the psychology of older women. In addition, she reported that there were requests for information on how older women are portrayed in textbooks.
Anderson Smith announced that there will be no more Science Weekends at APA. He also suggested that the Division work more actively for nominations of members to APA Boards and Committees.
John Cavanaugh reported that proposed changes in APA by-laws would disband any division whose membership was less than one percent of the total APA membership. Though this would not be a danger to Division 20, he recommended that members oppose the proposed change as that it might affect other related divisions such as Division 7 (Developmental Psychology).
To direct comments about the information contained in these pages, please write to marsiske@ufl.edu