Welcome Message from Division 15

This last year has been a very successful one for Division 15. The Division had a successful series of presentations at the 2011 APA conference in Washington, DC including invited addresses from Robert Pianta, Andrew Butler, Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia and Richard Shavelson. In addition, there were a number of events for graduate students including opportunities to meet award winners, past-presidents and members of the division. Past Division president, David Bergin, and his co-chairs, Bobby Hoffman and Michele Gill, organized a great meeting!

Looking to the future, we are considering a Division 15 conference that will be separate from the APA conference. An ad hoc committee, chaired by Andrew Butler, will be determining when and where such a conference should take place. It is expected that this conference will be small, with only 100 attendees allowing for more opportunities for discussion and mentoring among Division 15 members. You will likely receive emails through the listserv requesting feedback as the committee works.

The Division is also in the process of hiring a social media specialist who will work part-time on an assortment of tasks including press releases, social networking and other activities designed to promote the Division. The Division hopes to hire this person by next year. In the meantime, an ad hoc committee has been established to create Facebook and Twitter accounts for Division 15. We are also seeking to increase the membership of the Division, particularly among young professionals.

Martha Carr, APA Division 15 President (October, 2011)