From the Editor

Tara S. Behrend

My undergraduate mentor, Richard Moreland, recently passed away. Dick was not an I-O psychologist—as he put it, he was a social psychologist who liked to dabble in I-O. His work in the area of team processes and newcomer socialization is hugely influential in the social sciences and has been recognized by every major honor and award imaginable. To me, though, Dr. Moreland was an incredibly generous and devoted teacher, and a kind and gentle person. I had no idea how famous he was when I wandered into his office in 2002, looking for research experience. He set me up with a project, coding interviews about recruitment source effects. As he explained, there were two possible explanations for why word-of-mouth recruitment worked better than formal recruitment. It was a puzzle—and I got to help figure out the solution! I threw myself into the task. At the end of the semester, we analyzed the results together (using Minitab, no less) and made a poster. I remember that it was late into the night on a Sunday before he was satisfied that the margins on the poster looked good enough for me to present at our department’s research fair. Because this was before the days when Microsoft would automatically justify your margins for you, we had to use trial-and-error, adding or shortening words until they all lined up just right.

When I think of how generous he was with his time, how patient, and how humble, I am inspired to be more like him. I was just one of dozens of undergraduates who benefited from his wisdom and good humor. Once, his graduate students complained to him that my loud laugh was distracting them. He told me to ignore them—it was important to have fun when doing research. In his position, I can’t say I would have done the same (though I’m sure my current office neighbors wish he would have nipped that in the bud).

I am grateful that I was able to tell Dick how much I appreciated his mentorship, and what a strong influence it had on my development as a researcher. I saw him in 2008 at the INGroup conference. I didn’t expect that he would remember me, considering the large numbers of students he worked with. We hadn’t kept in touch. Not only did he remember me, but he remembered the project we worked on together and proudly described it to his colleagues. I’m sure he had no idea how much that meant to me.

Dick Moreland was not an active SIOP member, but he was a multidisciplinary thinker and scholar who has influenced several generations of SIOP members. He was also an example of the kind of academic we might all try to be more like: human, kind, and devoted to others.

This issue of TIP will remind you that SIOP is full of kind and generous people who devote their time and energy to improving our profession and improving society. We welcome new President Talya Bauer in her first president’s column. We have Allie Gabriel’s final column for the Academic’s Forum—I’m pleased that she has found an outstanding replacement in Dorothy Carter, but sad to see her go! New Bridge editors Kimberley Adams and Stephanie Zajac present a terrific and informative column from Kelley Slack and Lacey Schmidt about teamwork training. In the International Practice Forum from Lynda Zugec and Walter Reichman, we learn about a women’s leadership development program run by Peter Scontrino in Bali. In Max Classroom Capacity, Loren Naidoo interviews Donald Truxillo about his recent Distinguished Teaching Award. These are just a few example of people we can hold up as exemplifying the best of SIOP.

This issue of TIP also has a surprise inside—the return of The High Society. This long-running column from Paul Muchinsky was a source of joy for many years, and TIP hasn’t been the same without it. I’m delighted to report that Nathan Carter has taken up the reins as SIOP’s roaster-in-chief for a new generation.  As you’ll see in his column, Nathan was profoundly influenced by Paul; an email that probably seemed trivial to Paul was anything but trivial to Nathan. Another reminder of the ways we can affect others without awareness.

I hope you enjoy this issue; if the content inspires you, please tell the authors! Send all complaints to me at behrend@gwu.edu.