The SIOP Foundation has always looked to the future. The trustees, in addition to stewarding awards and grants, continuously look for new ways to further the goals of IO psychology, a prime generator of evidence-based practices for many facets of human resource management. One avenue is to explore the opportunities to improve the alignment between research conducted by SIOP members and important real-world organizational problems. This has led to the creation of the latest Foundation initiative: Project Horizon.

The purpose of the Horizon Project is to identify research domains and key topics where the field of IO psychology is uniquely positioned to be a thought leader in areas relevant to strengthening individual, unit, and organizational outcomes. The goal is to devise strategies to seed and grow R&D while

Are you looking to explore Austin while at the SIOP Annual Conference but don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered! You can discover the city in just two hours with the Tour of Austin.

This fast-paced “bucket list” tour gives visitors a great snapshot of Austin: get dizzy gazing upward at the Capitol’s dome, indulge in decadent treats from iconic food trucks, explore cool outdoor art, snap photos at city landmarks, and check out funky neighborhoods only a local would know about.

This detour is jam-packed with facts, history and trivia on everything from Whole Foods to the UT campus, and everyone from Michael Dell to Willie Nelson. By the time you’re done with this tour, you’ll be able to say you “get” Austin – the history, people, music, culture, food and what keeps it “weird.”

The tour will be held Wednesday, April 22^nd, 2020 from 1:00 – 3:15pm. The Motor Coach pick up and drop off is conveniently located at the JW Marriott.

Visit the SIOP Conference webpage to learn more about what the Tour of Austin has to offer.

Planning your #SIOP20 experience? Consider a consortium! The four SIOP Consortia are full day events held on the Wednesday prior to the start of the annual SIOP conference and include lunch and receptions. The consortia are only open to SIOP registrants. Please share this information with your students and alumni via your program’s newsletters or listservs.

Master’s Consortium:

Today Master’s Student, Tomorrow I-O Practitioner

As your students are beginning to plan for the 2020 conference, they should consider joining us for the Master’s Consortium (MC), a developmental program specifically designed for second year master’s students! The program will include an impressive lineup of speakers, offering their unique perspectives on the opportunities and challenges faced by I-O practitioners today. They will also focus on the key developmental experiences that can lay the groundwork for a successful career in industrial and organizational psychology. Although second year master’s students who will be on the job hunt soon will likely benefit the most from the MC, all master’s students are welcome.

Diversity matters. Diverse viewpoints and diverse backgrounds are important to successfully solving complex challenges. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, “The quality, vigor, and innovation of the U.S. science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) enterprise depend on increasing the diversity of individuals, research teams, and leadership in STEMM fields.”

But the report, “The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM,” issued at the end of a 22-month study says, “Talent is equally distributed across all sociocultural groups; access and opportunity are not. This is particularly true in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine (STEMM) professions¹ that are expected to grow as a percent of the total workforce in the coming decades. The underrepresentation of marginalized groups in STEMM contexts is pervasive.”

Three SIOP members, Christiane Spitzmueller, professor of Industrial Organizational Psychology at the University of Houston, Tammy Allen, distinguished university professor of Psychology at University of South Florida, and Lillian T. Eby, professor of Industrial-Organizational Psychology at the University of Georgia made significant research and theoretical contributions to the report. Dr. Allen and Dr. Spitzmueller served on the Committee on Effective Mentoring in STEMM. Dr. Eby presented at one of the committee workshops. Find a prepress version of the report online here.

The report argues that effective mentoring is a “significant component of the complex solutions required” to comprehensively address the underrepresentation of major segments of the population in STEMM fields.

Newsbriefs is SIOP’s weekly member newsletter.

Sent by email every Wednesday, the newsletter includes a SIOP News section, containing information expressly for and about SIOP members. A quick read through Newsbriefs keeps you up to date on important member information.