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Early Career Programs: From Social Policy to Networking in New Orleans
By Kim Case, Chair of the Early Career Scholars Committee




You probably would be surprised to note that the current SPSSI membership includes a large proportion of graduate students and “early career” professionals. In fact, 25% of SPSSI members are graduate students and 18% earned their Ph.D. since 2003. In the past few years, SPSSI’s focus on addressing the unique concerns of junior faculty, early career scholars and practitioners, and graduate students has increased exponentially. The good news is this means more and more quality programming for you at the upcoming SPSSI convention.
Early Career Programs at the June 2010 SPSSI Convention

Surviving the Tenure-Track: Yes You Can!

Seriously- it is never too early to begin planning for tenure success. Whether you are an advanced graduate student, a first year assistant professor, or about to submit your promotion and tenure packet, this is the session for you! The panelists intend to cover topics including tips for surviving the first year, finding time for research, planning and preparing for your tenure review, and managing balance. How might faculty carve out the necessary time to cultivate an active research program, especially at teaching institutions? What materials should faculty collect for presentation in their tenure case file? How might faculty manage various professional expectations with regard to research, teaching, and service? How might faculty deal with the potential pitfalls of departmental and institutional politics? If you have a particular question about survival, please email those in advance to me at caseki@uhcl.edu. The panel will make every effort to research your questions in order to provide resources during the session at the convention. We hope to see you at the discussion, and remember to bring a friend!

Early Career Scholars and Graduate Students “Eats and Greets” Social Hour
The Graduate Student and Early Career Scholars Committees would love to see all of the graduate students and early career SPSSI convention attendees at the ECS social hour.  Early career folks often experience conferences in isolation, but SPSSI is committed to making you feel at home. I attended my very first SPSSI convention in 2002, but did not attend early career sessions until the 2006 meeting in Long Beach. I can honestly say that attending those events completely changed my career because it connected me to both junior and senior SPSSI professionals.  Some of them have become invaluable and generous mentors and even close friends. We want to support you as early career SPSSI professionals. Please join us for the early career social hour for snacks, good times, and hopefully, some new friends!

Early Career Scholars Pre-Conference Workshop June 24

The primary goal of the Early Career Scholars Workshop is to provide early career scholars with advanced training in application of psychological research to public policy.  We selected 25 exceptional doctoral students, post-docs, and assistant professors who will come together for a day-long pre-conference designed to help connect research and policy.  Five senior SPSSI scholars, including previous Council Members and Presidents, will each mentor 5 early career scholar participants. We enthusiastically announce the following distinguished ECS Workshop mentors: Dan Perlman, Linda Tropp, Geoff Maruyama, Bernice Lott, and Ram Mahalingam.  Mentors and invited speakers will present and facilitate discussions on identifying grant sources, working with community partners on public policy, teaching and learning about social issues, carving out time for writing, and making research relevant and useful for social change through public policy. 

As always, the early career committee welcomes your feedback, ideas, comments, and suggestions. What can we do to serve you? Please contact a member of the committee any time: Kim Case- caseki@uhcl.edu; Jeannetta Williams- jeannetw@stedwards.edu; Michele Schlehofer- mmschlehofer@salisbury.edu.

And we hope to see you at the SPSSI Convention in New Orleans!!


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