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By Caroline
Stanley, SUNY New Paltz At the NAPCN business meeting in New Paltz this summer, the most pressing issue that arose concerned who would be replacing Mildred Shaw as the NAPCN’s new president. Mildred had given eight years of service as president of the Network, and had been planning to step down this year. Conference organizer Jonathan Raskin, chairing the business meeting, brought the issue before the group. As he facilitated discussion over the presidency, a voice in the crowd suggested “We need someone like Jon to be the next president!” Someone seconded the motion, and others agreed. Following Network protocol, the presidency was opened to other candidates. However, by the time the business meeting was carried over into the Friday night Bar-B-Que, it became clear that no other candidates would be stepping forward. Thus, it was settled: Jonathan Raskin was ushered in, uncontested, as the NAPCN’s new president. Jon, a professor of psychology at the State University of New York at New Paltz, first became interested in personal construct psychology while studying under Franz Epting at the University of Florida. Since then, he has become an active NAPCN member. He serves on the Steering Committee, was editor of the Constructivist Chronicle for the past five years, and was the host of this summer’s NAPCN conference in New Paltz. In addition to NAPCN activities, Jon is also the book review editor for the Journal of Constructivist Psychology, secretary for APA’s Division 32 (Humanistic Psychology), and has published various articles, book chapters, and edited works devoted to constructivism. Although certainly very busy, Jon is already working on prospective plans for NAPCN. He describes that his main goal is to “better market NAPCN, to include more people, and to allow them to expand their horizons.” With the help of the NAPCN Steering Committee, much of this could begin this winter. One of the committee’s biggest projects involves the plan for the NAPCN to share a constructivist interest group with Division 32. Jon and the committee are in the midst of drafting a proposal that they will present this year at Division 32’s mid-winter meeting [see article, this issue, on the proposal]. If approved, the plan would allow for a hospitality suite and possibly a small program at the national APA convention each year. This would be especially helpful in terms of marketing NAPCN to a larger crowd of people. Because NAPCN conferences are only offered biennially, joining Division 32 would promote the NAPCN during non-conference years, as well provide members with an annual meeting place for discussion. Other plans include publishing a series of books containing articles presented at NAPCN conferences. Jon is currently working with Pace University Press on the first volume with proceedings from this past summer. Jon hopes to see this continued in future years, and believes that an arrangement with Pace University Press could result in subsequent volumes being published biennially. The book series, the hospitality suite, and the proposal to join Division 32, suggest that the NAPCN is being led in exciting new directions. With the benefits that these plans may offer, they also hint at the possibility for great change in the NAPCN’s future. 
Dr. Jonathan Raskin
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