Dear STP Family,
This month’s announcements come from our Executive Director, Dr. Thomas Pusateri and me. We have collaborated to bring you an update on actions taken during the Executive Committee’s mid-year meeting and to provide a rationale for several recent decisions by STP’s Executive Committee that are designed to maintain our Society's financial and operational health.
As you are aware, inflation has increased the prices of many goods and services, and the annual cost for STP to continue supporting its programming and services for teachers of psychology has also increased. For example, STP provides grants and awards that include travel support for STP members to attend conferences, and many STP leaders receive travel support to coordinate STP programming at ACT, APA, and other national and regional conferences. Because travel costs have increased, the Executive Committee will need to increase the maximum dollar amount for those who receive travel support from STP. In addition, the costs of hosting our Annual Conference on Teaching (ACT) have increased yearly; those who attend ACT pay only a fraction of the total cost to host this annual conference.
Therefore, the Executive Committee has recently voted to increase membership dues from $25 to $35 for non-student members and from $15 to $20 for students, post-docs, and retirees. This adjustment in dues will commence on July 1, 2024, the date when we begin to process new members and renewals for the 2025 calendar year. Those who join or renew in STP on or after July 1, 2024, will receive complimentary membership for the rest of 2024 and through December 31, 2025. This increase in dues will enable us to continue providing high-quality programming and services for our members.
The Executive Committee also voted to increase the registration fees for members to attend the Annual Conference on Teaching. The increase is modest and will not cover the full costs of those who attend ACT, but it will help reduce STP's overall costs of hosting this conference.
This year's Annual Conference on Teaching: On Location in Louisville is a rescheduling of the 2021 conference, which was canceled within a month of its intended start date due to rising COVID numbers. STP was originally penalized over $100,000 for this cancellation, but we were able to negotiate that penalty down to $10,000, plus a signed conference contract for October 10-12, 2024. Unfortunately, those dates fall on Yom Kippur. The STP Executive Committee, along with the ACT Committee members, offer our sincerest apology for this conflict and promise to select future dates for the conference that do not overlap with dates of religious and/or cultural significance.
The Executive Committee has also made a significant decision to divide the responsibilities of the current Executive Director into two budget-neutral positions: Executive Director and Operations Manager. This strategic move is aimed at enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of our operations. The future Executive Director will oversee memberships, conference registrations, and communications with members and nonmembers, among other responsibilities. The Operations Manager will serve as parliamentarian and historian for the Executive Committee and will support the work of other STP leaders (e.g., drafting policies and procedures, updating pages on the STP website). Tom Pusateri, the current Executive Director, will complete his term of office in the Operations Manager position through 2027. Sue Frantz, the current Assistant Executive Director, will be appointed as interim Executive Director in 2025, during which there will be a call for applications for that position to begin January 1, 2026.
The decision to divide the responsibilities of the Executive Director will require a bylaws revision that will add the Operations Manager as an ex officio member of the Executive Committee. In addition, the Executive Committee supports a recent STP task force recommendation to revise the STP Mission Statement by changing the phrase diversity, equity, and inclusion” to “diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging.” We will notify STP members when the vote for these bylaw revisions is open, and we encourage all STP members to approve both revisions.
