The Executive Board members of the Council are pleased to present this Annual Report of Board activities to all Council members. As most of you know, the Council consists of all directors of community graduate programs who join the Council, and the Board of members elected by the Council. This past year, 1995-96, the Board members were:

Chair: Clifford R. O'Donnell, University of Hawaii
Chair-Elect: Greg Meissen, Wichita State University
Secretary: Arthur J. Reynolds, University of Wisconsin
Treasurer: Marc B. Goldstein, Central Connecticut State University
Member: Cary Cherniss, Rutgers University
Member: Leah K. Gensheimer, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Student Rep: Rebecca Campbell, Michigan State University

A summary of Board activities this year is presented below:

1. Review of Council By-Laws

The Board reviewed Council By- Laws to be sure that Board practices conformed to the By-Laws and to recommend any changes. One of the discoveries was that the Board Chair is responsible for writing an annual report for Council members! No one remembered when this last occurred, but Board members agreed that this practice should be resumed this year. Another practice that will be revived at the SCRA Biennial in May, 1997 is a business meeting with all Council members. In addition to a few housekeeping changes in the By-Laws, the Council approved a name change. The name was changed to be consistent with the Society of Community Research and Action and to reflect the increasingly multi-disciplinary nature of the Council. As you see from the heading, our new name is the Council of Program Directors in Community Research and Action (CPDCRA).

2. Recruitment of New Council Members

Board members believe that the Council should serve as an inclusive organization to best represent the interests of graduate education in community research and action. Therefore, an effort to recruit new Council members was initiated this year. So far, four new programs have joined the Council. The Council now includes 14 clinical-community programs, 9 free-standing community programs, 5 interdisciplinary programs, and 6 masters programs. A copy of this Report and an invitation to join the Council is being sent to all programs listed in the 1995 Survey of graduate community programs, who are not current Council members. It is hoped that the Council eventually will include all graduate programs in community research and action.

3. Program & Course Development

One of the important purposes of the Council is to facilitate course and program development. This year, several Board members prepared manuscripts that reviewed clinical-community, free-standing, interdisciplinary, and masters programs, and offered suggestions on how to develop such programs. The manuscripts were submitted for a special issue of the Journal of Prevention and Intervention in the Community. Board members plan to disseminate this information and provide consultation to individual community faculty members who wish to develop community education programs.

Equally important is the development of undergraduate and graduate courses. To facilitate course development, the Board urges Council members to submit their syllabi to the Clearinghouse (Jim Dalton, Bloomington University, 717-389-4475, jdalton@planetx.bloomu.edu).

4. Accreditation & Specialization Issues

With all of the changes concerning criteria and procedures for accreditation and specialization, it is time to revisit these issues. Therefore, the Board is planning a forum to present and discuss these topics at the SCRA Biennial in May. As usual, this forum is expected to be on the afternoon before the conference.

5. Consortia

One of the ideas that the Board developed this year was the possibility of creating consortia among graduate programs to share information and curricula, consider student and faculty exchanges, collaborate on student admissions, etc. Discussion with Council members in our annual telephone survey indicated considerable interest. Therefore, the Board is planning a meeting at the Biennial to advance discussion of the idea.

6. Dissemination of Information About Community Graduate Programs

Every few years, the Board conducts a survey of community graduate programs. The last survey was published in The Community Psychologist in 1995. This year, the Board worked with the Editor, Jean Ann Linney, to help prepare a Special Issue of the Survey with information about the Council. The issue has been mailed by SCRA to Psi Chi chapters to create interest in community graduate programs among undergraduates. Council members also received a copy.

7. Statement on Cultural/Ethnic/Racial/Gender Issues

The Board strongly believes that all community psychology training programs should include high quality, competent training in cultural, ethnic, racial, and gender differences. The Board recognizes that the means used to provide this training will differ from program to program and may include required courses, integration within several courses, inclusion in comprehensive examinations, etc. To facilitate training related to cultural diversity, the Board is planning to develop a collection of various strategies which community programs can use, and will make this information available so that programs can use the most appropriate ones.

8. SCRA/Council Web Site

The Board is preparing information to be included in the forthcoming SCRA/Council web site.

9. APA Council of Chairs and Board of Educational Affairs Liaison

This year, the Board resumed its participation in the meetings of the APA Council of Chairs and Board of Educational Affairs. APA paid expenses for the trip. Two issues dominated the meetings: the internship crisis and prescription privileges for psychologists. The Board plans to continue its participation to increase the visibility of community in APA, so if there are issues that you would like to place on the agenda please contact the Board Chair (Greg Meissen in 1996-97).

In closing, please remember that the Board exists to represent the interests of the Council. It functions best with your participation. If you have an idea, suggestion, or an issue that you wish to address, please contact any Board member. In 1996-97 they are:

Chair: Greg Meissen, Wichita State University
Chair-Elect: Cary Cherniss, Rutgers University
Secretary: Leah K. Gensheimer, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Treasurer: Marc B. Goldstein, Central Connecticut State University
Member: Clifford R. O'Donnell, University of Hawaii
Member: Alan Tomkins, University of Nebraska
Student Rep: David Lounsbury, Michigan State University

See you at the Biennial!