Across the Nation -- News of the Councils

by Mike Willihnganz, Associate Editor

MAPAC

The Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium (MAPAC) will hold its January meeting in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on the 22nd through the 24th. A one-day workshop will be held in conjunction with the meeting. For information regarding the January meeting or upcoming workshops, contact Bob Schneider at (717) 787-5974, extension 3539.

WRIPAC

The Western Region Intergovernmental Personnel Assessment Council (WRIPAC) will hold its January meeting on the 30th and 31st, in Phoenix, Arizona. A one-day workshop on exam planning will be held in Phoenix on Wednesday, January 29th. For information on upcoming meetings and workshops call T.R. Lin at (213) 743-3532.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

The Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology presented Dr. Debra Anderson-Apruzzese speaking on the topic "Lateral Linkages for Business Results" at its October meeting. The November meeting addressed "The Essence of Organizational Change" by Dr. Cathy Walt. The December meeting will consist of the discussion "What is Our Profession?" by the Metro Officers. Dr. Judith Sedgeman is scheduled to present "Bringing out the Best in People" at the January meeting. For information on Metro membership or upcoming events, contact the Metroline at (212) 539-7593.

Bay Area Applied Psychologists

The Bay Area Applied Psychologists held their inaugural meeting on October 24th, in San Francisco. The mission of this San Francisco Bay Area organization is to promote professional and social contact among professionals working in the area of industrial/organizational psychology. For information on upcoming meetings call Dr. Edie Goldberg at (510) 676-6265 or Dr. Becca Anhalt at (415) 393-5685.

PTC/Arizona

The Personnel Testing Council of Arizona conducted a half-day workshop on 360 degree feedback systems in October. A workshop to be conducted in early 1997 is currently in the planning stages. For more information on upcoming activities contact Terry McKinney at (602) 261-8861 or Vicki Packman at (602) 236-8731.

PTC/Northern California

Personnel Testing Council of Northern California conducted a highly successful half-day workshop on score banding in October. The November meeting featured Bill Ghio and Wayne Flick speaking on "Rough Justice: U.S. vs. City of Torrance." Dr. Wayne Cascio will be the speaker at the December meeting. Dr. Cascio's topic will be "The New World of Work: Implications for Testing Professionals." Monthly meetings and workshops rotate between the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento. The PTC/Northern California spring conference has been scheduled for March 13th and 14th, 1997. The conference theme is "Personnel Perspectives: Bridges to the 21st Century." For more information on monthly meetings or the upcoming conference, contact Ninette Brintz at (916) 653-0890.

PTC/Southern California

Personnel Testing Council of Southern California held a very successful fall conference in Newport Beach, California on October 10th and 11th. The January luncheon meeting will address reference checking and negligent hiring. Tentatively scheduled for February is an employers' forum on EEO and regulatory developments. Dr. Jim Sharf will be a featured speaker at the February meeting. For information on upcoming luncheon programs, which are held the 4th Wednesday of each month, contact Lisa Holden at (213) 244-3268.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

Personnel Testing Council of Metropolitan Washington presented Dr. Benjamin Schneider speaking on the topic "HR and Service Quality: Lessons Learned" at its October meeting. The November meeting included Dr. Elizabeth Kolmstetter's presidential address as well as the business meeting. A half-day workshop on "Personality Assessment for Employment" will be conducted by Dr. Robert Hogan and Dr. Joyce Hogan on December 11th. For information on upcoming activities contact Jay Gandy at (703) 908-9692.

WRIB

The Western Region Item Bank (WRIB) is a cooperative organization of public agencies using a computerized test item bank. Services include draft test questions with complete item history, preparation of "printer ready" exams, and exam scoring and item analysis. Membership includes 175 agencies nation-wide. For more information contact Kristine Smith at (909) 387-6086.

Upcoming National and Regional Conferences and Workshops

December '96

10 Behavioral Technology, Inc. Seminar. "Behavioral Interviewing." Arlington, VA. Contact BTI, (800) 227-6855.

11 PTC/MW Workshop. "Personality Assessment for Employment" Contact Jay Gandy, (703) 908-9692.

18-20 Institute for Professional Education. "Applied Statistics." Washington, DC. Contact IPE, (703) 527-8700.

18-20 Institute for Professional Education. "Categorical Data Analysis." Washington, DC. Contact IPE, (703) 527-8700.

January '97

8 PTC/MW Luncheon Meeting. Speaker to be Announced. Contact Jay Gandy, (703) 908-9692.

23 Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology Dinner Meeting. "Bringing Out the Best in People." Contact Dr. Sarah Henry, (212) 504-0140.

February '97

9-13 Training Magazine. Annual Conference (featuring Scott Adams and Tom Peters). Atlanta, GA. Contact (800) 765-7616.

March '97

25-29 American Educational Research Association. Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. Contact AERA (202) 223-9485.

25-29 National Council on Measurement in Education. Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. Contact NCME (202) 223-9318.

(Some of the information contained in this calendar was reprinted by permission from the PTC/MW Newsletter which was compiled by Lance W. Seberhagen, Seberhagen & Associates.)

Editor's Note: Once again I would like to thank Mike for all his work this year in providing us with news on what's going on with other personnel assessment organizations and the calendar of events. Mike is not repeating his term as associate editor of this section for the coming year - he's very busy working as co-chair with David Dye for the program at out '97 conference. Deonda Scott, Test Validation Specialist with the City of Orlando, has graciously agreed to accept the role as associate editor for the coming year. (Thank you! Deonda.) If you have regional organization news or an item to add to the calendar, please contact her at the City of Orlando, 400 S. Orange Ave., Orlando, FL 32801-3302, phone (407) 246-2061, fax (407) 246-2019, or email (dscott@ci.orlando.fl.us).