A Message from SITAR President, Sandro Sodano
Hello SITAR members!
It’s great to be kicking off the spring edition of the newsletter. The program is being finalized for the 17th Annual Meeting [SITAR2014 – New Haven, Connecticut, June 6-7]. Notification of decisions on conference proposal submissions will be sent out shortly and the conference registration page will be up so that you may finalize your arrangements. We are delighted to have two stellar keynote speakers this year: Professor Geraldine Downey of Columbia University and Emeritus Professor David A. Kenny of the University of Connecticut. We are fortunate to also have included in this year’s program a special tribute to the work of Emeritus Professor Sidney J. Blatt (Yale University School of Medicine). Further information on the conference, including the keynote speakers as well as the tribute, is provided in this issue by SITAR2014 Program Chair and President-Elect, Christopher Hopwood. This looks to be a very exciting program. The communal goals of the society remain evident in the increasing numbers of multinational and multidisciplinary representation of presenters. I look forward to seeing you all in New Haven!
In personnel news, I am pleased to announce that Mark Lukowitsky has been named the new Editor of SITAR’s Newsletter. Mark proposed the addition of a new column—“The Clinical Angle”—that will feature clinical applications of Interpersonal theory. This column promises to be an interesting and informative addition to the newsletter and SITAR members can look forward to reading the first installment in the upcoming summer issue. I also am pleased to announce that Aidan Wright has been appointed to the position of Associate Newsletter Editor.
In this issue, you will also find a retrospective note from Lindsay Ayearst, the out-going chair of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC). Lindsay has served for many years on the Executive Committee as the Graduate Student Representative and then as Chair of the GSAC. I am grateful to Lindsay for her tireless contributions to SITAR. We wish you the best and we hope to see you soon! Lindsay’s departure from the GSAC gives me the opportunity to also announce the recent appointment of Gentiana Sadikaj to this committee.
The GSAC is now gearing up for its busy season, so I thought I would give a quick reminder about two key programs that are administered by this committee: the Travel Grants and the Jerry S. Wiggins Award for Outstanding Interpersonal Research. Over the past few years, these programs have been very successful at supporting and reinforcing the contributions of our graduate students, who are the future of this organization. However, the continued success of these programs depends on the support of the membership. For the Travel Grants, we must continue to rely on the generosity of our professional members to help fund students. Having witnessed the positive effects of this program each year since its inception, I can safely say that even a modest donation on your part goes a long way towards supporting our students. Please consider making a donation to the travel grant fund by going to the Travel Grant webpage. In addition, volunteering to be a judge for the Wiggins Award competition is also another way you can be supportive of our students.
Finally, we are in the process of revising the SITAR website, so if you have any suggestions for improvement, or wish to become involved, please do not hesitate contact me (Sandro Sodano) or SITAR’s Webmaster, Johannes Zimmermann.
It’s great to be kicking off the spring edition of the newsletter. The program is being finalized for the 17th Annual Meeting [SITAR2014 – New Haven, Connecticut, June 6-7]. Notification of decisions on conference proposal submissions will be sent out shortly and the conference registration page will be up so that you may finalize your arrangements. We are delighted to have two stellar keynote speakers this year: Professor Geraldine Downey of Columbia University and Emeritus Professor David A. Kenny of the University of Connecticut. We are fortunate to also have included in this year’s program a special tribute to the work of Emeritus Professor Sidney J. Blatt (Yale University School of Medicine). Further information on the conference, including the keynote speakers as well as the tribute, is provided in this issue by SITAR2014 Program Chair and President-Elect, Christopher Hopwood. This looks to be a very exciting program. The communal goals of the society remain evident in the increasing numbers of multinational and multidisciplinary representation of presenters. I look forward to seeing you all in New Haven!
In personnel news, I am pleased to announce that Mark Lukowitsky has been named the new Editor of SITAR’s Newsletter. Mark proposed the addition of a new column—“The Clinical Angle”—that will feature clinical applications of Interpersonal theory. This column promises to be an interesting and informative addition to the newsletter and SITAR members can look forward to reading the first installment in the upcoming summer issue. I also am pleased to announce that Aidan Wright has been appointed to the position of Associate Newsletter Editor.
In this issue, you will also find a retrospective note from Lindsay Ayearst, the out-going chair of the Graduate Student Advisory Committee (GSAC). Lindsay has served for many years on the Executive Committee as the Graduate Student Representative and then as Chair of the GSAC. I am grateful to Lindsay for her tireless contributions to SITAR. We wish you the best and we hope to see you soon! Lindsay’s departure from the GSAC gives me the opportunity to also announce the recent appointment of Gentiana Sadikaj to this committee.
The GSAC is now gearing up for its busy season, so I thought I would give a quick reminder about two key programs that are administered by this committee: the Travel Grants and the Jerry S. Wiggins Award for Outstanding Interpersonal Research. Over the past few years, these programs have been very successful at supporting and reinforcing the contributions of our graduate students, who are the future of this organization. However, the continued success of these programs depends on the support of the membership. For the Travel Grants, we must continue to rely on the generosity of our professional members to help fund students. Having witnessed the positive effects of this program each year since its inception, I can safely say that even a modest donation on your part goes a long way towards supporting our students. Please consider making a donation to the travel grant fund by going to the Travel Grant webpage. In addition, volunteering to be a judge for the Wiggins Award competition is also another way you can be supportive of our students.
Finally, we are in the process of revising the SITAR website, so if you have any suggestions for improvement, or wish to become involved, please do not hesitate contact me (Sandro Sodano) or SITAR’s Webmaster, Johannes Zimmermann.