Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

MAPAC

The Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium held a Spring Conference in May. Topics included Leadership Competencies for Assessment; Intelligence, Abilities, and the Prediction of Performance; Re-engineering the Selection Process; Employee Surveys; Job Analysis; and Assessment Centers. Watch for details of upcoming events on IPMAAC Online! For information regarding upcoming workshops, contact Bob Schneider at (717)787-5974, extension 3539.

WRIPAC

The Western Regional Intergovernmental Personnel Assessment Council (WRIPAC) is comprised of working assessment professionals from more than sixty small, medium, and large public agencies throughout the western United States. Member agency representatives attend regular meetings (three a year). No annual fees are required. Instead, membership is contingent on participation in meetings and at least one of eight working committees. In addition to information sharing, committees also produce training tapes, monographs, ksa-task lists, and WRIPAC job analysis methodology. Recently, Karen Coffee and Mike Willihnganz conducted two successful two- day WRIPAC job analysis training sessions for the State of California.

The third 1996-97 training workshops and regular meeting was held in Berkeley, CA on April 30th, May 1st and 2nd. All three workshops: "Item Writing" by Mike Willihnganz, "Honesty and Integrity Testing" by Deniz Ones, and "Position Analysis Questionnaire (PAQ)" by Calvin Hoffman were well attended. Speakers and topics were Dr. Robert J. Harvey on "Mini-workshop: Using Common-Metric Questionnaire (CMQ) to Address Personnel Problems;" Dr. Deniz Ones on "Measuring Conscientiousness for Personnel Selection: Does Social Desirability Destroy Criterion-Validity?"; Paul Kaiser on "Innovations in Examining and Recruitment: Alternative Approaches to Employee Selection"; and Karen Coffee and James Pearce on "Recruitment and Selection on the Internet: Opportunities and Issues." Invited guest speakers' presentations received excellent feedback.

The 1997-98 officers are Valerie Ruxton, President; Augie Ureta, Vice President; Norma Villasenor, Secretary; and Mark Rau, Financial Officer. Their first WRIPAC training workshop and regular meeting will be in Bakersfield, CA on September 24th-26th. For information on WRIPAC call Valerie Ruxton, President, at (707)257-9505.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

The April meeting of the Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology featured Paul Squires presenting "Educational Technology: What it is and Why Don't I/O Psychologists Care." The June 16th meeting will feature Dr. Richard Beatty of Rutgers University presenting "Soft Asset Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions." For information on Metro membership or upcoming events, contact the Metroline at (212)539-7593.

Bay Area Applied Psychologists

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. Mike Spratt of Coopers & Lybrand presented his latest work on Change Management at the May meeting in San Francisco. Meetings are held quarterly and additional meetings are in the planning stages. For information on upcoming meetings, call Dr. Edie Goldberg at (510)676-6265.

PSC/Florida

The Personnel Selection Council of Florida hosted a symposium on interviewing in May which was moderated by Lorren Oliver of the Miami Dade School of Justice & Safety Administration. Panelists included Mark Alan, Broward County Sheriff's Office; Carol Drouilliard, City of West Palm Beach; Sharon Liebowitz, City of Ft. Lauderdale; and Norm Sitter, Broward County. Contact Michael Chasin at (954)357-6434 for information and upcoming events.

PTC/Arizona

Due to the heat (mid-90's in mid-April), PTC/A is taking a summer recess from program sessions. Their March, half day "tour" of the Internet was well attended and very exciting. Thanks to the kind assistance of Bill Waldron, PTC/A and its upcoming activities are now listed on IPMAAC Online! For more information on PTC/A, contact Terry McKinney (602)261-8861 (tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us) or Vicki Packman (602)236-8731 (vspackma@srp.gov).

PTC/NC

The Personnel Testing Council of Northern California's next luncheon meeting will be held on June 13th in Berkeley. Speaker and topic are TBA. Contact Kathleen Hurley at (510)238-6471. The "New Millennium Personality Assessment" will be the subject of Robert and Joyce Hogan's (University of Tulsa) one-half day workshop on July 11th in Sacramento. Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358. Brian Morisch will give a one-half day workshop on "Test Development" on August 8th. Contact Kathleen Hurley (510)238-6471. William Donnoe of Donnoe & Assoc. will speak at the September 12th meeting in Sacramento. Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358.

PTC/SC

The Personnel Testing Council of Southern California holds luncheon meetings on the fourth Wednesday of each month. Jade Kuan and Kenneth King of the Metropolitan Water District presented "Strategic Selection Processes: Political & Practical Perspectives" at the May 28th meeting. PTC/SC will conduct a pre-conference workshop at the IPMAAC conference in June on "Professional and Legal Guidelines for Testing and Selection." Dr. Cal Hoffman, Southern California Gas Co., will also be presenting at the conference on June 24th. Harry Brull of Personnel Decisions, Inc. will be the guest speaker at the meeting on July 23rd (topic TBA). The August 27th meeting will feature Dennis Joiner of Dennis Joiner & Associates presenting "Practical Scoring Methods of Assessment Centers." Dr. Bob Guion of Bowling Green State University will present at the meeting on September 23rd; and the November 19th meeting will feature Dr. Kevin Murphy of Colorado State University. The subjects of their presentations will be announced at a later date. For additional information, contact Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

The topic of PTC/MW's May luncheon meeting was "Working the Web: Tips for Personnel Testing Professionals on Using the Internet for Networking and Research" presented by Dr. Ruth Childs of the American Institutes for Research. The June 11th meeting will feature Dr. Heather Roberts of the APA presenting "Rights and Responsibilities of Test Takers: Implications for Personnel Assessment." "Using Humor in Professional Presentations" will be the topic of special luncheon workshop presented by Dr. Ronald Berk on July 9th. Dr. Berk is "Jester in Residence" at Johns Hopkins University and has a "license to practice jocularity from the Chuckle Institute for the Humor Impaired." Contact Dianne Brown at (202)336-6000 for information.

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 179 agencies nationwide. For more information, contact Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

Upcoming International, National, and Regional Conferences and Workshops

June '97

1-4 IPMA Central Region. Conference. Sheraton Centre in Cleveland, OH. Contact Frank Smith (616)456-3151.

6-11 IPMA Eastern Region. Conference. Hartford, CT. Contact Karen Duffy- Wallace (860)679-4588.

11 PTC/Metropolitan Washington. Luncheon Meeting. "Rights and Responsibilities of Test-Takers: Implications for Personnel Assessment." Speaker Dr. Heather Roberts. Contact Dianne Brown (202)336-6000.

13 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. Subject and speaker TBA. Berkeley, CA. Contact Kathleen Hurley (510) 264-8358.

16 Metro NY Assoc. for Applied Psychology. Dinner Meeting. Dr. Richard Beatty, Rutgers University. "Soft Asset Due Diligence in Mergers and Acquisitions." New York, NY. Contact Pat Marshall (212)539-7593.

22-26 IPMA Assessment Council. Annual Conference on Public Personnel Assessment. Newport Beach, CA. Information is provided in this newsletter. Contact IPMAAC at (703)549-7100.

22-25 Society for Human Resources Management. Annual Convention. San Diego, CA. Contact SHRM (703) 548-3440.

July '97

11 PTC/NC. One-half day workshop. "New Millennium Personality Assessment." Robert & Joyce Hogan, University of Tulsa. Sacramento, CA. Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358.

11 PTC/MW. Luncheon Workshop. "Using Humor in Professional Presentations." Dr. Ronald Berk of Johns Hopkins. Contact Dianne Brown (202)336-6000.

13-16 IPMA/University of Kansas Dept. of Public Administration. Personnel Officers' Seminar in Vail, CO. Call (703)549-7100.

17-18 University of Michigan Business School. Course. Pay Program Strategy & Design. Ann Arbor, MI. Call Lucy Chin (313)764- 1379.

19-23 Florida Public Personnel Assoc. Annual Conference. Orlando, FL. Call (407)246- 2057.

23 PTC/SC. Luncheon Meeting. Harry Brull of Personnel Decisions, Intl. Topic TBA. Call Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

August '97

8 PTC/NC. One-half day workshop. "Test Development" presented by Brian Morisch. Berkeley, CA. Contact Kathleen Hurley (510)238-6471.

8-13 Academy of Management. Annual Convention. Boston, MA. Contact (914)923-2615.

9-14 Intl. Assoc. of Applied Psychology. Intl. Congress. San Francisco, CA. Contact (202)336-6024.

10-14 American Statistical Assoc. Annual Convention. Anaheim, CA. Contact (703)684-1221.

15-19 American Psychological Assoc. Annual Convention. Chicago, IL. Contact APA (202)336-6020.

27 PTC/SC. Luncheon Meeting. Dennis Joiner (Dennis Joiner & Assoc.) presenting "Practical Scoring Methods of Assessment Centers." Call Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

September '97

7-11 IPMA International Training Conference. Marriott City Center in Minneapolis, MN. Contact IPMA Meetings Department (703)549-7100 or e-mail training@ipma- hr.org.

12 PTC/NC. Luncheon Meeting. William Donnoe of Donnoe & Assoc. Topic TBA. Contact Kim Leek (916)264-8358.

23 PTC/SC. Luncheon Meeting. Dr. Bob Guion of Bowling Green State University. Topic TBA. Call Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

24-26 American Society for Training and Development. Technical Skills Training Conference. St. Louis, MO. Contact ASTD (703)548-3440.

24-26 Center for the Study of Work Teams. Annual Conference. Dallas, TX. Call (817)565-3096.

24-26 WRIPAC. Training Workshop and Meeting. Bakersfield, CA. Contact Valerie Ruxton (707)257-9505.

November '97

4-8 American Evaluation Assoc. Annual Convention. San Diego, CA. Call (804)225- 2089.

19 PTC/SC. Luncheon Meeting. Dr. Kevin Murphy of Colorado State University. Topic TBA. Call Andrew Ansoorian at (818)933-1922 or Kristine Smith at (909)387-6086.

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.