From the Board of Directors: Highlights from Summer Meeting

The SPSP Board of Directors met remotely this summer. Monica Biernat has already shared a few highlights of the meetings (read Monica's highlights), focusing mostly on the implementation of the Equity and Anti-Racism (EAR) Task Force, including the formation of two new working groups seeking to enhance inclusion in our field.

If you have not considered getting involved in SPSP Governance, I certainly encourage you to do so. A terrific part of the board meeting is getting to know so many of our amazing colleagues who work throughout the year to help the Society in a host of different ways.

A true pleasure of the meeting is the task of approving awards. The Board approved a whole raft of award winners, as recommended by the Awards Committee (Shelly Gable, Chair). Remember that a truly inclusive slate of award winners requires a truly inclusive slate of nominees. When the calls for nominations come out, I strongly encourage you to nominate deserving scholars. The nomination process has been streamlined considerably and self-nominations are always welcome.

In addition, we approved seven Graduate Student Publication Awards, as selected by the Publication Committee (Niall Bolger, Chair). The process by which the award-winning articles are selected is truly exemplary. You might have wondered why you’ve never been asked to write a nomination letter for a student publication. That’s because no such letter is required. Instead, Sage provides the committee with every article published in the award year that was first-authored by a graduate student, in PSPB, PSPR, and SPPS. The first-year Publications Committee member serves as chair of the committee (this year, our thanks go to Tara Letzring). The chair leads the committee in reading and evaluating these many outstanding articles. To say that the selections are difficult is an understatement—especially as all of the papers have survived peer review (the number of awards given is 10% of the pool). If you happen to find yourself on this committee in the future, rest assured that you will be blown away by the high quality of work being produced by these scholars.

We also approved over 30 outstanding scholars for Fellow status in SPSP, as recommended by the Fellows Committee (chaired by Jennifer Lerner). Learn more about our newest Fellows and please join me in congratulating this amazing new cohort. If you, like me, are surprised that some of these individuals are only just now being granted fellow status, why not nominate people you think warrant this honor in the coming year? Self-nominations are also welcome. Learn more about fellow status.

The Diversity and Climate Committee (Jon Freeman & Michael Kraus, Chairs) presented their latest Catalyst Grant recipient—a new network for members with disabilities. The Disability Advocacy and Resources Network (DARN!) will work to identify and remove barriers to full participation in conference activities as well as to create a network of support for scholars with disabilities. This is a great step in our pursuit of a more diverse, equitable society.

The Board also discussed the complex issue of the format for the 2022 Convention in San Francisco. Rest assured, the discussion included the full range of possible opinions. The convention will certainly follow the local guidelines and we are currently planning a hybrid of in-person and online options. Amy Summerville (program chair) has worked tirelessly to devise ways to enrich the online experience while also maintaining a safe environment for those who attend in person. We appreciate your patience as we work on this issue. A special thanks to those who completed the recent online survey.

Finally, as Monica mentioned, the Board unanimously approved bringing the issue of graduate students’ voting rights to the full society.  Don’t forget to vote in October (you will receive a ballot via email) on this vital issue. I am very excited to vote yes. I encourage you to do so as well.