From Our Editor

Kala J. Melchiori, Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, James Madison University

This issue of The Forward is a blend of reflections on our summer conference highlights and a look ahead to our new leadership. Together, these pieces underscore SPSSI’s commitment to tackling complex social issues through rigorous research and advocacy. As we navigate an increasingly challenging social landscape, the insights and efforts of SPSSI leaders and members are invaluable.

Outgoing SPSSI President Patrick Grzanka reflects on his tenure and the challenges faced in addressing social justice issues, emphasizing the importance of our work amidst rising authoritarianism. Incoming president Heather Bullock highlights SPSSI’s history and ongoing commitment to addressing poverty, prejudice, and peace, calling for enhanced policy impact through research and advocacy.

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Meeting the Moment(s)

Patrick R. Grzanka, SPSSI Outgoing President, Divisional Dean of Social Sciences and Professor of Psychology,
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

I feel quite a mix of emotions as I write my last column to the SPSSI community as outgoing President. I’m thrilled at the tremendous turnout and intellectual vitality of our 2024 annual meeting in Philadelphia, which broke our all-time participation record with over 600 attendees! I’m excited about the new leadership elected to Council and for the upcoming presidencies of both Heather Bullock and Kimberly Barsamian Kahn, two of the most inspiring and insightful psychologists and leaders I know. I’m proud of the work we did this past year to advance the psychology of social issues during major transitions in the organization and amid terrible tumult in the world around us. I often feel desperate—and sometimes a bit despondent—about the suffering and hate we witness daily in our lives both here in the U.S. and on the global stage. And I’m bewildered at how quickly the past 12 months went by.

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A Message from Incoming SPSSI President

Heather Bullock, Professor, Department of Psychology, Director, Center for Economic Justice and Action, Incoming SPSSI President, University of California, Santa Cruz

For a Journal of Social Issues volume reflecting on SPSSI’s 75th anniversary (Rutherford, Cherry, & Unger 2011), I co-authored a paper analyzing activities by the society and its members related to poverty, social class, and economic inequality (Bullock, Truong, & Lott, 2011). As part of our analysis, I reviewed newsletters and meeting notes from SPSSI's beginnings in 1936. It was exciting to experience SPSSI as a fledgling society finding its footing, and inspiring to learn more about how SPSSI’s founders, leaders, and members took on issues of the day. What I did not anticipate is that some years later I would be writing this column or that reviewing SPSSI’s history would be so meaningful to me in the current moment.

Now, just a few years shy of its 90th year, the continuities between SPSSI’s past and present are striking, and over the past year as president-elect and now president, I have been thinking a lot about SPSSI’s trajectory. Much like SPSSI’s early members, many of us come to SPSSI because we want to be in community with fellow justice-oriented researchers, teachers, practitioners, and advocates who tackle social issues in all their complexity and who believe that we have a crucial role to play in policy discussions. Unsurprisingly, we continue to confront and seek solutions for many of the same persistent societal challenges. The 3 P’s - peace, prejudice and poverty - focal areas since SPSSI’s inception remain foundational concerns (Capshew, 2011). And, true to our roots, SPSSI remains responsive to our times, continually expanding in depth and scope. Just consider the range of issues covered in this summer’s incredible conference program or SPSSI’s journals, books, and webinars!

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