Awards Committee – The Awards Committee has focused on three goals for 2020/2021. First, the Awards Committee now has a working handbook outlining activities and deadline dates, including submission deadlines, addition of new panel members, etc. The award descriptions and criteria are now in a document for easier access and comprehension. Finally, the awards committee has been working with SPSP administration to evaluate the current award selection process and make changes/improvements as needed.

Convention Committee – The Convention Committee has been putting the finishing touches on SPSP’s first virtual convention! Nearly 90 symposia were accepted this year (a 57% acceptance rate, up quite a bit over the last several years), as well as 30 data blitz presentations, 72 single-paper submissions, 23 professional development sessions and workshops, and over 1600 posters. We have also scheduled several special invited sessions throughout the virtual meeting. The SPSP staff has been exploring platforms that will help us make the most out of our virtual conference environment, and we funded several family care grants that will offset the costs of SPSP members who require childcare, elder care, or care due to disability to attend the virtual conference. We look forward to “seeing” you in 2021!

Diversity & Climate Committee – The DCC Committee submitted an NSF grant proposal to fund an expanded version of the Social-Personality Undergraduate Research (SPUR) Program for three years. The Committee has also been hard at work reviewing Graduate and Undergraduate Diversity Award applications and planning for the upcoming SPSP Convention. Look for forthcoming announcements about this year’s virtual Diversity Reception at SPSP and information on how to host space within the DCC Committee’s virtual lounge!

Early Career Committee – The Early Career Committee has been busy leading various Free-Form Fridays and Webinars! At highly attended sessions over the past few months, we have covered: Applying to Academic Jobs in the UK; Teaching Track Positions; NIH Repayment Loan Applications, Academic Careers in Applied Areas, and How to Make your Research and Teaching Inclusive and Representative! 

Fundraising and Development Committee – Fundraising has gone well during the latter half of 2020. Our current fundraising for the year is $100,000, which far exceeds our initial goal of $65,000. We view this as a testament to the generosity of our members, and their concern for one another and SPSP during this difficult time. We are pleased to announce that James M. Jones will be added to the Heritage Wall of Fame.  Fundraising continues for new nominees, and the Committee is working to broaden representation among the nominees.  We are also in the process of choosing two new members to join the Committee next spring.

Government Relations Committee – The Government Relations Committee recently hosted a Free-Form Fridays event to brainstorm about how our committee can best serve the society's interests. In the coming months, members of our committee are chairing an exciting professional development panel at the February 2021 SPSP conference to address how social/personality psychology researchers can engage with and influence public policy. Panel members will be Bob Cialdini, Jack Glaser, Wendy Naus (COSSA), and Lindsey Cary (Ontario Public Service). We hope you'll join us!

Professional Development Committee – This fall, the professional development committee has been busy planning for the 2021 virtual convention. We received a number of outstanding submissions for professional development sessions and workshops, of which 16 were accepted. In addition, because most people are currently socially isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been offering more online content than usual this year. In October, the professional development committee hosted a Free-Form Fridays session on Zoom and brainstormed ideas for future SPSP programming. We looking forward to seeing everyone at the virtual convention in February!

Student Committee – The Student Committee (SC) has had a busy year! After hosting successful rounds of student writing groups in the summer and fall, the SC is currently accepting sign-ups for the Spring 2021 Student Writing Groups. This fall, we have also successfully coordinated a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Workshop as part of the SPSP series of webinars on racism, bias and diversity. The recording is now available online. Finally, the SC is working hard on several student-oriented events taking place during the 2021 online convention, including the mentoring events (also known as mentoring lunches), which are now open for registration (Friday and Saturday sessions), and a live professional development symposium on the academic job market—stay tuned for a call for questions for the panelists! Curious about other professional paths? The SPSP SC has been working hard on a report on the non-academic job market survey, which we will release this spring! Follow us on social media to stay up to date!