October 8, 2019

It was good to see so many of you at the APA convention in Chicago last month. We had some great conversations about teaching – at the sessions, in the hallways, over coffee, and at the STP social hour. I hope to see you at STP’s own Annual Conference on Teaching (ACT) in Denver next week. I can promise you that there will be thought-provoking conversations about teaching there, too! Please join us to honor this year’s teaching award recipients, and then attend the relatively brief STP Business Meeting to hear what your STP Executive Committee and the incredible volunteers that make up STP’s committees, task forces, directors, and editors have been working on since last year’s ACT.

In other news, for members of APA:

• Please vote for APA President-Elect.  STP’s Executive Committee has endorsed two candidates for this position: Jennifer F. Kelly and Susan Krauss Whitbourne. 
• Please cast Apportionment Ballots for Division 2 (STP) in November. Each eligible voter is allowed ten votes that may be allocated to any division, state, provincial or territorial association of his or her choice.  STP is Division 2 of APA and is entitled to positions on the Council of Representatives proportional to the number of votes the division receives in the apportionment balloting. We encourage APA members to cast all or some of their 10 allotted apportionment votes for the division when they receive these ballots. Too often, members throw away these ballots, thinking that their votes do not make a difference. In actuality, these votes have helped Division 2 retain its two representatives on the APA Council.  If sufficient votes are cast, Division 2 may be able to gain a third representative, thereby providing teachers a stronger voice to advocate for education initiatives at APA.
• Two proposed by-laws changes may also be of interest to STP members who are also members of APA. The first proposal would add “Graduate Student” as a membership class, which would grant graduate student voting privileges.  A vote to SUPPORT the allowing of grad student members to vote will also allow Associate members to vote after 1 year versus 5 years.  If the whole motion passes it will be good for teachers of psychology. The second proposed amendment is a proposal to clarify that Student Affiliates may be high school students or undergraduate students. Your representative on the APA Council and the STP Executive Committee support these amendments and encourage you to vote in favor of them.

Join us and make it all happen! If you’re a member of the Society for the Teaching of Psychology, we are very happy to have you as part of our family! When you’re ready to get more involved, please check out the Get Involved page for new opportunities. If you like what the Society for the Teaching of Psychology does, but are not yet a member, please join us. Only $25/year supports everything that STP does for the teaching of psychology and, for you, it opens up professional development, professional service, and funding opportunities. If you haven’t already, we’d love to have you join the discussions on our Facebook group, on one of our listservs, or on Twitter (@TeachPsych).

Sincerely,

Rick Miller, STP President