December 2, 2019

As my term as President comes to an end, I would like to thank the many folks who made this “the best of times.” The village that it takes to operate STP includes a terrific, dedicated, 10 person Executive Committee, a hard working and savvy Executive Director – Tom Pusateri, 50 some odd (not all of them) directors, editors, and chairs – who are responsible for publications, services, committees, and conference programming, and 200 plus committee members, including reviewers, participants in Presidential task forces, etc. Thank you for stepping up and giving back to our organization. In addition, I would like to express my deep appreciation to those who have during this year provided us with advice, solutions, ideas and questions via the STP Facebook group, Twitter, and our listservs (DiversityTeach, Div2PsychTeacher, DIV2ECP, and Div2GSTA). As Sue Franz once noted, the President’s job is to get out of the way and let really good people make things happen. Among the many things happening this year was the work of several presidential task forces. Let me bring you up to date on their progress.

Under the able leadership of Jane Halonen, the task force on evaluating STP programs focused on evaluating Departmental Consulting Services and will create an instrument for that process that can be used as a template for other programs to use in their assessment.

The SoTL task force, chaired by David Daniel identified two web-based listings of all things SoTL and a link to those will be provided on our website. Phase 2 will involve a review of 1000+ ToP articles resulting in a list of “What Teachers of Psychology Know” with regard to SoTL Two new e-books are nearing completion. The first is on High Impact Practices, co-edited by Anna Schwartz. The second is Administration of a Student Friendly Conference, co-edited by Doug Woody, In addition a new e-book on Translating Research to Practice has been launched. Karen Naufel and Manisha Sawhney and their team addressed how to promote best practices in mentoring undergraduate research. They have compiled an informative list of best practices and are completing wok on a rubric to be submitted for publication. With regard to diversifying our membership, Missy Beers task force has identified several strategies that the Executive Committee will be considering in the next few months. Finally, under the able leadership of Keli Braitman, we introduced two new teaching awards, one for mentoring teachers and other for civic engagement.

If you like what the Society for the Teaching of Psychology does, but are not yet a member, please join us. A mere $25/year supports everything that STP does for the teaching of psychology and it opens up professional development, professional service, and funding opportunities for you personally. Also, if you are looking to make a difference while working with wonderful colleagues, take a look at the “Get Involved” page for opportunities to work with others like you who have a passion for teaching.

It has truly been an honor to serve as your 2019 president. Please join me in welcoming your new president, Amy Fineburg (College Board), into whose very capable hands the society will continue to grow and prosper.

Rick Miller, President,

Society for the Teaching of Psychology