Across the Nation: News of the Councils

Déonda Scott, Associate Editor

Bay Area Applied Psychologists (BAAP)

BAAP's August meeting featured Mitchell Lee Marks who spoke on the topic of I/O Interventions in Mergers, Acquisitions and Alliances. Additional meetings and speakers are to be announced. The August newsletter included a summary of Michael Gibbs' presentation on "Intellectual Capital." For information contact Dr. Edie Goldberg at (415)836-1286 or Becca Anhalt (415)393-5685.

Metropolitan New York Association for Applied Psychology

METRO recommenced its schedule of monthly dinner meetings in September. Joel Brockner of Columbia University will present "Managing Individual's Reactions to Organizational Change: The Effects of What You Do Depends on How You Do It" on October 22. The topic of the November 17 meeting will be "Forging New Organizational Identities: The Challenges of Facilitating the Merger and Post-Merger Process" presented by Connie Steensma and Larry Gould of The ACCEL Group. Paul Sackett of the University of Minnesota will be presenting "Selection in the Post Affirmative Action Era" on December 9. For information contact Seymour Adler (212)539-7593.

Mid-Atlantic Personnel Assessment Consortium (MAPAC)

MAPAC's Fall meeting in Princeton, New Jersey had something for everyone. Kathleen Morris of the State of Ohio discussed the history and future directions of the Ohio Civil Service, and Charles Sproule presented a "Methodology for Development and Validation of Physical Employment Tests and Medical Employment Guidelines." Leroy Sheibley of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania described a nationwide survey of states and their use of privatization to meet staffing needs. Brenda Estep of the PA State Police discussed the Pennsylvania State Police selection procedure and "The Use of Technology and Measurement Principles to Find Out What Our Customers Think" was presented by Paul Katanik of the US Postal Service. The Winter Conference will be January 29-31 in Harrisburg, PA. For information on upcoming events, contact Jim Frankart (717)783-2697 ext. 3517.

Minnesota Professional for Psychologists At Work (MPPAW)

Announcing a new organization for I/O Psychologists! MPPAW will have six scheduled meetings at the University of Minnesota on Thursday evenings. The program will include a social hour, presentation, and question and answer session. The first meeting was held on September 24^th and featured Frank Schmidt of the University of Iowa who answered the question "Ninety Years of Research in Personnel Selection: What Have We Learned About What Works and What Does Not?" Richard Arvey of the University of Minnesota will speak on "Emotionality as a Predictor of Job Performance" on October 15th. The first newsletter was published in September and included a MPPAW member profile, member news, organizational information, etc. Call Sid Teske at (612)348-4443 for more information about membership or programs.

PSC/Florida

The Personnel Selection Council of Florida's next meeting will be held on October 29 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Speakers Ron Frankel and John Burns with the Florida Department of Veteran's Affairs will discuss the Veteran's Preference in Employment. Future meetings are in the planning stages. Contact Desiree Bice (954)724-1351 for more information.

PTC/Arizona

On September 18, PTC-AZ held a successful full-day workshop on "The A-B-C's of Assessment Centers." Colleen McManus (AZ State Bar) was the primary instructor/trainer. David Waldman (AZ State University-West) and Terry McKinney (City of Phoenix) assisted. The PTC-AZ Board is busy planning its next program. For more information about PTC-AZ contact: Vicki Packman at 602-236-4595 or vspackma@srp.gov OR Terry McKinney at 602-261-8861 or tmckinne@ci.phoenix.az.us.

PTC/Northern California

PTC/NC hosted Dave Milne of Bay Test Services who spoke on test administration issues at the July meeting. Additional events are in the planning phase. Contact Sharon Rose for more information (510)676-6265 or srose@corehrc.com.

PTC/Metropolitan Washington

PTC/MW's September meeting featured Rosemary Miller and Michael Blair or the U.S. Postal Service who spoke on "Getting your ASP in Gear: Development of a Selection and Training Program for Associate Supervisors." The October 14 and November 11 luncheon meeting speakers and topics have not yet been announced. Contact Ann Quigley (202)268-3952 for information. The PTC/MW also has a very good website that can be accessed through IPMAAC Online! Their newsletter provides summaries of past presentations, job announcements and a professional calendar.

PTC/Southern California

The Personnel Testing Council of Southern California's Fall Conference will be held on October 22 and 23 at The Barnabeys Hotel in Manhattan Beach, California. The theme will be "Unearthing Hidden Potential, exploring non-traditional means of assessment." There are many facets to individual performance that are not currently measured as part of selection processes. This conference aims to explore and discuss alternative methods of improving employee selection and to consider some of the challenges and issues involved in using personality, biodata and other non-traditional assessment methods. For more information please contact conference co-chairs: Kathryn Paget at (909)387-6086 e-mail Kpaget@co.san-bernardino.ca.us or Bernadette Debevec (213)625-5625 e-mail bdebevec@lausd.k12.ca.us. Wayne Flick will be presenting "The City of Torrance vs. Department of Justice Case (Recent Developments)" at the November 25^th luncheon program. Contact Ross Hessler (714)536-5917. PTC/SC holds a luncheon meeting in Monterey Park, CA on the fourth Wednesday of each month. PTC/SC and its upcoming activities are now 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. Contact Kathryn Paget at (909)387-6086.

WRIPAC

The 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, President, at (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.