40 Facts Celebrating 40 Years of Incorporation

Forty years ago this month, Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Recorder of Deeds in Washington, DC, formally establishing the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. We continue the celebration of this milestone by highlighting 40 facts about SIOP’s last 40 years.

This list is only a snapshot of the great things SIOP and its members have done over the last 40 years. Join us by sharing your SIOP facts on social media using hashtag #SIOP40 or by emailing astark@siop.org, and keep those SIOP-related haikus coming on social media using hashtags #SIOP40 and #SIOPHaiku or by emailing astark@siop.org.

1. APA Division 14 incorporated as the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Inc. on June 18, 1982.
2. Arthur C. MacKinney and Richard J. Campbell were SIOP presidents in 1982.
3. SIOP’s first administrative office was at the University of Maryland with one part-time administrative staff person hired in 1983.
4. SIOP held its first conference April 9-11, 1986, in Chicago.
5. The SIOP office moved to Arlington Heights, Illinois, in 1990 and employed a full-time administrative staff person.
6. Bowling Green, Ohio, became the site of the SIOP office in 1995, where it has remained for 27 years and has grown to 12 staff positions.
7. The SIOP website launched in 1995.
8. The 20th Annual SIOP Conference was April 25-17, 2005, in Los Angeles.
9. SIOP introduced the Top 10 Work Trends in 2014. Big Data was identified as the #1 trend that year.
10. The SIOP time capsule was launched during the 30th Annual SIOP Conference in Philadelphia April 23-25, 2015.
11. The SIOP time capsule will be opened in 2045 at the 100th anniversary of Division 14 and the 60th anniversary of the SIOP Annual Conference.
12. SIOP is composed of more than 9,000 members with the majority in the U.S. and with an international contingent of approximately 11%, mostly from Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
13. Currently, more than 800 members volunteer to serve on approximately 50 different committees.
14. Every 3 years SIOP conducts the SIOP Income and Employment Survey to gather data about current salaries, employment trends, and conditions in the field of I-O psychology.
15. Dr. Elizabeth (Betsy) Shoenfelt and Dr. Margaret (Peggy) Stockdale were selected to serve as SIOP’s first omsbudspersons.
16. The Family Care Grant was administered for the first time in 2022.
17. SIOP has nearly 40 Gold Star (50-year) members.
18. SIOP members were involved in writing and reviewing the American Psychological Association’s passage of three historic resolutions regarding past inequities.
19. The SIOP Foundation was founded in 1996 to advance the field of I-O psychology through awards, grants, and scholarships.
20. September is SWAM - Smarter Workplace Awareness Month, which SIOP introduced in 2014.
21. SIOP’s Sterling Circle recognizes 25-year members and includes more than 1,000 members!
22. The DIP (Diversifying I-O Psychology Program) is SIOP’s exciting initiative to engage undergraduates and increase racial diversity within the field of I-O psychology.
23. The longtime tradition of the Frank Landy 5K went virtual in 2021, allowing participants to run or walk at a day and time convenient to them. It was back in action as an in-person race in 2022.
24. SIOP introduced Speed Mentoring at the 2014 annual conference where SIOP members participate as protégés and interact with accomplished mentors on a variety of I-O psychology-related topics.
25. In 2011, SIOP was granted non-governmental organization (NGO) special consultative status by the United Nations (UN) Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).
26. The first SIOP Visionary Circle Grant of $100,000 was awarded in May 2020 for a project supporting gig workers. The second grant of its kind was awarded in April 2022 for a project supporting human/AI team trust.
27. Approximately 25%, or about 1,500 people, who attend the SIOP conference are first timers. 
28. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, SIOP’s premier journal debuted in March 2008.
29. Student Affiliates comprise about 40% of SIOP membership, the largest membership type, followed by 35% Members, 18% Associates, 4% Fellows and 4% Retired members.
30. SIOP weighs in on federal government issues that impact I-O psychology such as the effects of shutdown furloughs on the federal workforce.
31. In the wake of the #MeToo movement, Addressing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace was identified as the #1 Work Trend in SIOP’s 2018 work trends survey.
32. SIOP advanced strategic goal #2 with the 2021 launch of its first user-friendly dashboard for members to view aggregate demographic data on a variety of variables including gender, member type, highest degree earned, sector of employment, location, and field of study. (e.g., I-O/Business Psychology, Organizational Behavior, Human Resources). Version 2.0 was added in March 2022.
33. The Industrial-Organizational Psychologist (TIP) debuted in 1964.
34. The term “The Great Resignation” was coined by I-O psychologist Anthony Klotz to describe the wave of people leaving their jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
35. In 2022, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security added Industrial and Organizational Psychology to the STEM Optional Practical Training program after a several-year-long effort by SIOP and advocacy partner Lewis-Burke Associates.
36. In 2022, SIOP crowdsourced global research opportunities to support displaced Ukrainian scientists. More than 2,000 items have been added to the continuously updated list of laboratories that can host Ukrainian scientists at all career levels.
37. SIOP launched the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Online Resource Center in 2021.
38. SIOP members can subscribe to the SIOP Research Gateway (SRG) service that makes available three EBSCO Host research databases—Business Source Corporate, Psychology and Behavioral Science Collection, and SocIndex—plus exclusively available content by and for SIOP members on a variety of science and practice topics.
39. In 2009, at the 24th annual conference in New Orleans, more than 75 SIOPers volunteered to make over the library at Langston Hughes Academy Charter School as part of SIOP KARE (Katrina Aid and Relief Effort).
40. SIOP has more than 300 Fellows.

You can find the first article in this series on our website.