Business as Usual

For those of you who were unable to attend the APS convention in Dallas I am happy to report that we had a remarkably successful meeting. The meeting was well-attended (over 1,300 participants!) and the program was superb. Our thanks are due to Ann Howard, Jim Kalat and David Olton for planning the program and to Ellen Kimmel for handling all of the local arrangements. And, of course, Alan Kraut and the APS staff did a very professional job of managing the convention.

The APS Board and the Washington Office staff have already started to plan for the third (yes, third) convention which will be held in Washington, DC, June 13-17, 1991. We are very pleased that Jim Kalat has agreed to serve as program chair for the 1991 convention. It is not too early to think about suggestions for next year’s program. The Board hopes you will be pleased to know that the 1992 convention will be held on the West Coast. We will select the city and hotel(s) for that convention after determining hotel costs and available dates as well as estimated travel costs.

It is also not too early to think about nominations for the APS Board and President. My term of office, as well as that of half of the APS Board will end next year at the end of the convention. The Nominations Committee is chaired this year by Kay Deaux. A call for nominations appears in this issue of the Observer. Please respond to this request.

Note that these remarks convey a “business as usual” spirit. Remarkably, in a very short period of time our organization — through the efforts and dedication of its members, Board, and staff — has become well-established. Our membership has continued to grow, as we expected it would. Our continued growth is, of course, essential for our continued effectiveness.

This brings me to my final point. It is a simple fact that running a national scientific organization costs money. Our annual dues are, as we know, our major source of funds. The Board has pledged to keep the dues low and has made every effort to keep the costs of running APS at a minimum. Nonetheless, we need more funds to support our programs. At the convention in Alexandria I asked that you take the ”McGaugh Pledge” to work to double the APS membership. And, you did.

I now ask that you reaffirm your commitment to this pledge (or to take it for the first time). There are still many psychological scientists who have not yet joined APS. If each of us will make the effort to get one new member we could easily double our membership once again by the time we meet in Washington next June. Let’s make every effort to do it so we can continue with our important “business as usual.”