Minutes of the Business Meeting #
August 16, 1998
BUSINESS MEETING MINUTES
Sunday, 16 August 1998
12:00 PM to 12:50 PM
Room 270
Moscone Center - South
San Francisco, CA
Larry A. Alferink
Secretary/Treasurer
1. CALL TO ORDER: Dr. Eckerman called the meeting to order
at 12: 02 p.m.
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Dr. Eckerman asked the
membership to review the minutes of the 1997 Business meeting. Dr.
Catania moved that we approve these minutes. Dr. Dworkin seconded
this motion, which was approved unanimously.
3. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Dr. Eckerman also introduced Dr. Fred
Stollnitz from NSF, who reported to the membership that this appears
to be a good budget year at NSF, and for individuals Division of
Social Behavioral and Economic -Human Research, Division for
Integrated Biology and Neuroscience animal. Dr. Stollnitz encouraged
grant submissions from members of the division. In addition to
Support for research programs, there are also a number of other
opportunities in other programs, including a new program supporting
undergraduate research. Dr. Stollnitz invited members to discuss
with him any questions which they have about possible funding and to
check the web site for program announcements. Dr. Eckerman asked
about the Knowledge and Distributed Intelligence which was a new
program initiative during the past year. Dr. Eckerman thanked Dr.
Stollnitz for providing information about possible funding support to
the membership.
4. AGENDA: Dr. Eckerman asked the members present to review
the agenda and asked if there were any items which should be added to
the agenda.
5. MEMBERSHIP COMMITTEE: Dr. Eckerman indicated that Dr.
Hopkins has resigned from Executive Committee and that he would be
seeking a replacement.
6. PROGRAM COMMITTEE: Dr. Pitts reported that the program
was constituted primarily of invited presenters. We should be
concerned about increasing submissions to APA, particularly since the
Science Directorate is likely to move toward an increasing emphasis
on poster sessions. Dr. Eckerman noted that Boston may present an
opportunity to encourage students to contribute posters, given the
geographical proximity to a number of programs. Dr. Cataldo noted
that we might think of structuring a portion of our program to
promote linkages of behavior analysis to other divisions. Dr.
Dworkin indicated that Division 28 was also struggling with these
issues, and the plenary sessions may have opportunities. Dr. Pitts
noted that Divisions 3 and 6, which have experienced shrinking
attendance, combined their programs into sessions with major themes
which were highly publicized, and apparently this was relatively
success as these sessions are reported to have been well attended.
Dr. Cataldo suggested several themes such as crime or education. Dr.
Pitts has been collecting data on attendance and, thus far, we have
been averaging approximately 25 attendees per session with a low of
16 and a high of 61. Dr. Pitts noted that Dr. Gina Green and Dr.
Wayne Fisher will be responsible for the program next year.
7. COUNCIL REPRESENTATIVE: Dr. Eckerman noted that Dr. Wasik
is unable to attend the Business Meeting as she is representing the
Division at Council at the present time. He noted that APA is
concerned about budget issues as they expect no growth in income over
the next several years.
8. FELLOWS COMMITTEE: Dr. Eckerman indicated that Dr. Cuvo
attended the Executive Committee but is currently in Brazil. Dr.
Eckerman indicated that two members and four current APA members are
being recommended for Fellow Status in the Division. The Membership
Committee has indicated that they will recommend D.r C. Alan Boneau,
Dr. Laura Cartensen, Dr. Richard Foltin and Dr. James Zacny who are
currently APA Fellows for Fellows status in the Division. In
addition, Dr. V. Mark Durand and Dr. Robert Eisenberger, who are
currently not APA Fellows will also be recommended for Fellows
status. All of these recommendations are subject to the approval of
the Division Fellows in attendance later today, and individuals who
have not as yet been approved as APA Fellows must also be approved by
a vote of APA Council.
MOTION: Dr. Dworkin moved that we accept the report of the
Fellows Committee. Dr. Catania seconded this motion, which was
approved unanimously.
The process of selecting fellows for 1999 has begun and will conclude
at the APA Convention next year.
9. AWARDS COMMITTEE: Dr. Catania noted that the there are
two new awards will be given this next year with the Basic Award to
Dr. Tony Nevin and the Applied Award to Dr. Montrose Wolf. The
Skinner new Researcher Award will go to Dr. Randy Grace. Dr. Catania
noted that he attended the APA Monitor Reception and the opportunity
exists to recognize the efforts of members of the Division who are
being considered for Awards in the Monitor.
10. DIVISION 25 RECORDER: Dr. Eckerman noted that the
the issue of the Recorder was mailed to members shortly before
the annual Conference. Dr. Eckerman indicated that Division may be
seeking to make greater use of electronic resources to supplement or
replace the more costly print versions
Dr. Catania also noted a problem with the timing of the Bylaws Ballot
due to delays by the publisher in mailing the Recorder. Since
the published deadline was before most members received the ballot.
Therefore, the Executive Committee has agreed to extend the deadline
and will do a mailing to the membership.
11. PsycSCAN ADVISORY BOARD: Dr. Eckerman noted that
PsycSCAN is proceeding well, but there is a decline in
subscriptions which appear to be related to a sudden decrease in new
membership recruitment efforts. PsycSCAN offers us many
opportunities to reach a broader audience and opportunities to
recruit these individuals as members due to favorable pricing
structures for members. Two issues each year consist of core
journals and two issues are based on key word selections. The
Publication Board is likely to make the resources of the journal
available electronically next year.
12. NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS COMMITTEE: Dr. Pilgrim
reported that the elections process went very smoothly with an active
participation from our members in the balloting. The new
President-Elect is Dr. Jack Marr. Dr. Pilgrim also noted that the
Division was successful in nominating two Division members for slates
for two important APA Boards and Committees. Dr. Eckerman encouraged
members to consider participating in APA governance as a means of
furthering the interests of the Division in broader APA affairs.
13. FINANCIAL REPORT AND BUDGETS: Dr. Alferink reported that
the Division currently has $31,046.34 in assets. As of August 12,
the Division has received income of $11,864.61 and as of August 15,
has expenses of $5,351.88. At the present time, income exceeds
expenses by $6,512.73. It should be noted that the income includes a
one-time donation of $5,000 from the estate of Ellen P. Reese to help
support the Division’s awards program.
Dr. Alferink also indicated that the Executive Committee had approved
a proposed budget for the 1999 fiscal year. This budget projects
$7,508 in income and $8,600 in expenses. Expenses are projected to
exceed income by $1,092.
MOTION: Dr. Pilgrim moved that we approve the Budget and the
Financial report. Dr. Pitts seconded this motion, which was approved
unanimously.
14. NEW BUSINESS: Dr. Eckerman reported that the Division
has established a linkage to the Practice Directorate and the Executive Committee now meets with representatives from this Directorate
as well as with representatives of the Science Directorate. This
seems like an important step to take to recognize the role of the
contribution of members of the division to both science and practice.
Dr. Eckerman thanked Dr. Catania and expressed his appreciation to
Dr. Alferink
15. MEETING OF DIVISION FELLOWS: The Division
Fellows in attendance approved the recommendations of the Fellows
Committee.
16. ADJOURNMENT: Dr. Pilgrim moved that we adjourn. This
motion was second by Dr. Cataldo and was unanimously approved by the
membership. The meeting adjourned at 12:55 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted
Larry A. Alferink
Secretary/Treasurer