Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

Bay Area Applied Psychologists (BAAP)

To celebrate the end of a fantastic year the BAAP Steering Committee would like to invite you to BAAP's first ever Holiday Party! Help them celebrate a great 1999 AND kick off the new millennium by meeting and socializing with fellow BAAP members over tapas! The party will be held in Oakland on Thursday, Dec. 16th from 6-9 p.m. BAAP will provide tapas and there will be a no-host bar. Contact Michelle at michelle@terranovaconsulting.com or (925)253-0458.

Y2K Events - Mark your calendar now! Ira Levin from Ernst & Young will present "Culture Assessment Model" at the January 27 meeting. The April meeting will feature Sharon Bray of Career Action Center who will be "Exploring Issues Beyond Career Self-Resilience." For information, contact Becca Anhalt (415)743-8705.

Chicago Industrial/Organizational Psychologists (CI/OP)

CI/OP's November meeting featured Mark Schmitt, Ph.D. and Ann Marie Ryan, Ph.D who discussed "Making Selection Decisions Based on Personality Assessment." On December 10, the topic will be "Approaches for Increasing Employee Retention." "I/O Psychology and the Law" will be discussed at the January 14 meeting and "Careers in Psychology" will be the subject of the February meeting (date TBA). The March 17 meeting will feature "Current Theories about Leadership." CI/OP generally has Friday afternoon sessions from 1:00 - 5:00 P.M. featuring several speakers addressing a topic. Call Ron Haverson at (773) 278-8229 for information.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

At METRO's October meeting, Ann Howard of Development Dimensions Intl. presented "A Reassessment of Assessment Centers; Challenges for the 21^st Century." Michael Beer of the Harvard Business School discussed "Building an Organization Fit to Compete" at the November meeting.

"The Light and Dark Sides of Competency Modeling" will be the topic of speaker Ken Pearlman of Lucent Technologies on December 16. Richard Hackman of Harvard University will present "Leading Teams" on January 11. The Ground Hog's Day Dinner will be held on February 17. Bill Byham of Development Dimensions Intl. will present "The Millennium Elephant and Other Challenges Facing the Industrial/Organizational Psychologist in the Next Century." On March 9, the topic of Virginia Schlein from Gettysburg College will be "Understanding Poor Women in Work: Opportunities for Industrial/Organizational Psychologists." For information about upcoming events contact Vince Conte (212)708-6424 or email vincent.a.conte@ac.com, or Seymour Adler (212)539-7593.

Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium (MAPAC)

MAPAC's Fall Meeting was in New York, New York on September 29 - October 1. The overall topic was "Technical Issues in Selection." The Winter Meeting will be held in Baltimore, Maryland on January 19-21. More details appear on the website. For information on upcoming events, contact Linda Dunn (212)794-5672.

Minnesota Professional for Psychologists At Work (MPPAW)

The MPPAW hosted Kevin J. Nilan and Karen B. Paul of 3M who presented their research in HR measurement systems and employee surveys at the November meeting. Elaine D Pulakos, immediate past president of SIOP will present her work on "Adaptability in the Work Place" and its application to the fast changing workplace on January 27. Contact Sidney Teske for more information at: Sid.Teske@co.hennepin.mn.us or using the older technology, telephone number (612)348-4443.

PSC/Florida

Future meetings of the Personnel Selection Council of Florida's are in the planning stages. Contact Desiree Bice (954)724-1351 for more information.

PTC/Arizona

On September 28, the Personnel Testing Council of Arizona sponsored a one day seminar giving Human Resources professionals a unique opportunity to learn the fundamentals of job analysis, the foundation for most HR programs and systems. At this seminar, participants learned: what does and does not constitute job analysis; different approaches to and uses of job analysis; legal requirements for valid job analyses; and basic techniques used in performing job analysis. For more information about PTC-AZ, contact Terry McKinney at (602)261-8861 or tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us, Vicki Packman at (602)236-4595 or vspackma@srpnet.com.

PTC/Northern California

PTC/NC's Fall Workshops were held on September 10, 1999, and October 8, 1999, and featured half-day training sessions on (1) the development of low-fidelity simulation written examinations and (2) the issues to consider when evaluating test leasing and rental agreements. The Fall Workshop Series was quite successful, and PTC/NC is looking forward to continuing this tradition in 2000. The November meeting featured Dr. William Donnoe presenting on "The Development and Administration of Performance Tests."

The December 10 meeting will be held in Fairfield, California. It will combine a presentation by John Worcester from the City of Portland with a festive holiday luncheon and the installation of the 2000 officers and Board Members. PTC/NC is pleased to announce its 2000 officers and Board Members: Krysten Stepke - President; Howard Fortson - Vice President Sacramento, Diane Crosley-Mayers - Vice President Bay Area; Peggy Tang - Secretary; Tina Sprouse - Treasurer; Board of Directors - Vince MacManus, Larry Meyers, Jacqueline Murphy, Sharon Rose, and Shelley Langan.

PTC/NC's 14^th Annual Spring Conference is scheduled for March 9 and 10, 2000. Conference planning activities are currently underway. Information regarding conference location, speakers, and topics will be provided as it becomes available. For additional information or to make reservations for the December meeting, contact Shelley Langan at (916) 654-8538 or slangan@spb.ca.gov.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

PTC/MW's special luncheon/workshop on "Biodata" was presented by Garett Stokes of the University of Georgia in October. The November meeting speaker was Gary Carter of PDRI. Deirdre Knapp of HumRRO will give the Presidential Address at the December 8 meeting. Contact Suzanne Tsacoumis (703)706-5660 for information. You can access PTC/MW's website from IPMAAC Online!

PTC/Southern California

PTC/SC's Fall conference was heavily attended with over 70 participants. The theme of the conference was "Toolbox for 2000." As always, the speakers were as well received as the view from the hotel. Our first speaker, Ron Komers, was very dynamic and enlightened the membership on recruitment strategies for the new millennium. The second set of speakers, Linda Hax & Laurie Achtelik, provided a thorough overview of O*NET and how it would benefit personnel selection. Shelley Langan gave an exceptional presentation of scoring models for selection processes. An interactive round table discussion allowed attendees a chance to see what other agencies were doing in personnel. Dennis Joiner, a leader in the field of Assessment Centers, reviewed and discussed various methodologies. In addition, Roger Crawford, gave an in-depth overview of legal aspects pertaining to traditional human resources practices. Steven Ashworth closed the conference with an interesting practitioner approach to becoming an internal consultant. After the conference, there was a social hour with appetizers and drinks on the patio overlooking the water. There were many interesting conversations and even a raffle for a door prize. We look forward to seeing all attendees at the next conference in the spring.

Susan Cohen presented results of a meta-analytical study of effective teams at the luncheon meeting in November. Contact Seema Thakur (213)743-3536. PTC/SC holds a luncheon meeting in Monterey Park, CA each month. PTC/SC and its upcoming activities are listed on IPMAAC Online!

Western Region Item Bank

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 190 agencies nationwide. For more information, contact Kathryn Paget (909)387-6086.

WRIPAC

WRIPAC will present "Item Analysis," January 26, 2000; presenter--Mike Willihnganz. Performance Tests, January 26, 2000; presenter--Bill Donnoe; contact Sophia Selivanoff at (707) 565-3145 or sselivan@sonoma-county.org for more information. Western Regional Intergovernmental Personnel Assessment Council (WRIPAC) is comprised of assessment professionals from more than sixty small, medium, and large public agencies throughout the western United States. For more information, contact Mark Rau (209)297-2335.

Déonda Scott is the Civil Service/Testing Manager for the City of Orlando. If you have regional organization news or an item to add to the calendar, please contact her. She can be reached by phone (407)246-2061; fax (407)246-2019; or e-mail dscott@ci.orlando.fl.us. Snail-mail will eventually find her at the City of Orlando, 400 S. Orange Avenue, Orlando, FL 32801-3302.