Saenz and Friedman Nominated for WPA President-Elect

Delia Saenz from Arizona State University and Howard Friedman of the University of California, Riverside have accepted the nomination for WPA President-Elect. The ballot will be sent to professional members in late February via e-mail notification. WPA will now do online elections each spring. Dr. Saenz has provided us with the following candidate statement.

Delia Saenz Candidate Statement
I am honored and humbled to be a nominee for the position of President of the Western Psychological Association. I am a long time member of this outstanding organization, and was inducted as a Fellow in 1993. My connection to WPA has included membership on its executive board over the span of multiple years, as well as attending and presenting at its annual conferences. I have had the distinct pleasure of serving as Program Chair for the annual convention, and as Representative-at-Large for the Council of Representatives; additionally, I have contributed to the WPA’s fund-raising efforts. Throughout my affiliation, I have recognized that WPA is arguably the top regional psychology organization in the country, boasting an outstanding annual convention, a large and committed core of professional and student members, and a thoughtful approach to showcasing psychology as a science, a practice, and an exciting discipline. The foci of WPA’s efforts are far-ranging, from highlighting cutting edge research in substantive and applied areas, to enhancing pedagogy in our field, to promoting the inclusion of underrepresented groups in our profession, and providing unique funding and professional development opportunities for students. For these and many other reasons, I am proud to be affiliated with WPA. I believe that the goals and values of WPA are consistent with mine and I would be honored to serve as President of our organization. In that capacity, I would work closely with my colleagues on the executive board and with the broader membership to further develop the ongoing contributions of our organization to our discipline regionally and nationally.

There are a number of initiatives that I would enthusiastically advance as President. Among these are convention-focused goals that include: 1) encouraging the presentation of work that emphasizes transdisciplinary approaches to science; 2) initiating an annual symposium on state-of-the-art work related to inclusion and human diversity; and 3) establishing connections to local cultural groups within the selected convention sites so as to make our meetings contextually meaningful to attending members and host communities alike. Beyond convention-specific efforts, and more pertinent to organizational leadership, I would also continue the tradition of my predecessors in working to ensure that the fiscal health of WPA is maintained and strengthened. Wise and sustainable use of resources (e.g., electronic newsletter and voting, rather than mailing of hard copies) coupled with fund-raising efforts will allow us to continue to offer our members a valuable experience without excessive increases in dues or registration. Fiscal responsibility will also ensure continuation of scholarships and awards to student members. A hallmark of my leadership approach is openness to ideas and innovation from the larger group. In fact, many recent innovative and cost-cutting changes in WPA have emerged from the annual meeting of the representatives to the council and to the student organization. An implicit goal, therefore, is to continue to encourage such healthy dialogue and communication so that we can all contribute to furthering the work of our organization.

My relevant professional experience includes a career in academia with positions as both a faculty member and an administrator. I received my Ph.D. in Social Psychology from Princeton University in 1987. Following an initial faculty appointment at the University of Notre Dame, I moved to Arizona State University where I am currently a tenured professor in the Department of Psychology. I also serve currently as the vice provost for undergraduate education. Additionally, during my tenure at ASU, I have held the positions of Director of the Intergroup Relations Center, associate dean of the Graduate College, and Area Director of the Social Psychology Graduate Program. My research over the past 15 years has focused on tokenism, intergroup processes, diversity, and acculturation, and has included both laboratory and field research. This work has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Science Foundation, W.T. Grant, and the Ford Foundation. As a faculty member, I have been recognized for outstanding contributions to both the teaching of undergraduates and the mentoring of graduate students. I have also been selected as a recipient of the “Excellent Educator Award” from the Ronald McDonald House Charities National Scholarship Program. I believe that my administrative skills, mentoring experience, and scholarship position me well to serve WPA capably. I would welcome the opportunity to use my skills, knowledge, and professional commitment to serve WPA and its constituencies as President, and to continue the tradition of excellence that characterizes our organization and its past leaders.

Howard Friedman Candidate Statement

Biography. Howard S. Friedman is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Riverside. His scientific work on health and longevity has drawn wide attention in the scientific community and has been featured in popular media worldwide. For three decades, he has studied personality predictors of longevity, developing a scientific understanding of the “disease-prone personality” and the “self-healing personality.”

In 2008, the Association for Psychological Science (APS) awarded him the James McKeen Cattell Fellow award, for outstanding contributions in the area of applied psychological research. Friedman is also the recipient of the career award for Outstanding Contributions to Health Psychology from the American Psychological Association (Div. 38). He is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the Society of Behavioral Medicine. He is a Fellow of the WPA, which he joined as an assistant professor.

Friedman is the Editor of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. His research on nonverbal expressiveness and personal charisma has been widely applied in health promotion, leadership training, medical education, and viral marketing.

Dedicated to teaching, Professor Friedman has received UCR's Distinguished Teaching Award, as well as the Outstanding Teacher Award from the Western Psychological Association (WPA). He is also known for his textbooks: Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research 4e (Allyn & Bacon, 2009) and The Personality Reader (Allyn and Bacon, 2008).

His other books include: Foundations of Health Psychology (named an “Outstanding Academic Title” by Choice); The Self-Healing Personality: Why Some People Achieve Health and Others Succumb to Illness;  Health Psychology; and Hostility, Coping, and Health. He was Editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of Mental Health (named a "Best Reference Source of 1998" from Library Journal).
A magna cum laude graduate of Yale University, Friedman received his doctorate from Harvard University, where he was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow.

Statement about WPA. The WPA conference is the best venue for undergraduate and graduate psychology students to meet and interact with the best psychology professors and researchers in a collegial atmosphere. It is also a great place to exchange tips about teaching, graduate training, and postdoctoral opportunities. The WPA conferences are best held in accessible, central locations, to allow for the widest possible attendance; and they should be filled with stimulating, challenging, and fun talks, symposia, and gatherings.