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Text of Letter:
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
To: Division Presidents and Presidents-elect
From: Michael G. Wessells, PhD, Chair, Committee on Division/APA
Relations Alan D. Entin, PhD, Vice Chair, Committee on Division/APA Re!ations
Karen Zager, PhD, Chair-elect, Committee on Division/APA Relations
Thomas J. Shuell, PhD, Vice Chair-elect, Committee on Division/APA
Relations
Date: February 22, 1995
Subject: APA Celebrates the 50th Year Anniversary of Division Organization
At the 1995 Division Leadership Conference, Chief Executive Officer Raymond D. Fowler, PhD announced that during 1996 APA will celebrate the 50th anniversary of division organization within the Association. The formation of divisions was a significant milestone for APA, and divisions continue to be critical to the life of the Association. The amalgamation of the American Association of Applied Psychology and the American Psychological Association took place in 1945. Divisions, as organizational units of the newly merged association, were included in the Bylaws and division elections were held for the first time in 1945 through 1946. The first official record of APA Division Officers and Division Representatives to Council was included in the 1946-47 archival issue of the American Psychologist. APA recognizes that several of the divisions pre-dated the establishment of the new APA, some existed as sections of the old AAAP and others, such as the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, were independent organizations that elected to become divisions of the new APA. Even though your division may recognize another date of establishment based on its individual history or your division was established after 1946, APA urges your division's participation in celebrating the 50th year anniversary of the creation of divisions in APA.
The Committee on Division/APA Relations will be organizing some APA-wide activities for this celebration and we urge the divisions to also organize celebrations of the anniversary of divisions. Some ideas generated for the Annual Convention are: an APA reception for past division presidents; division social hours/receptions honoring past division officers; and an address by Ernest Hilgard, PhD who was an active participant in the historic negotiations creating the new APA and its divisional structure.
We invite you to participate in the development of activities to celebrate the 50th anniversary of divisions. Please send us suggestions on special activities or programs that could be held at convention or for ideas for our publications-throughout the year.Perhaps each division could organize a program or an activity, to help celebrate their uniqueness and contributions to APA or perhaps several divisions could organize.: panels to explore the evolution and contributions of divisions to psychology and/or the work of the APA.
In addition, at the 1995 Division Leadership Conference, Dr. Fowler displayed a presidential plaque” created by the Division of Clinical Psychology (Division 12), listing all their past presidents, with room for the addition of future presidents.He suggested that other divisions may want to create similar plaques, all of which would be displayed at the APA building. The Division Services Office is looking into possible
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vendors who would be willing to offer a reduced rate if multiple divisions
are interested in donating plaques to APA. A dedication ceremony for the
division plaques could be held in conjunction with Council's mid-winter
meeting.
Please send your suggestions to us via our staff liaison Sarah Jordan in the APA Division Services Office by April 17, 1995 and help make this a truly memorable event.
(End of letter text)