Dear GSAPP Alumni and interested web browsers: A warm welcome to you and thank you for browsing through the GSAPP Alumni Organization (GSAPP AO) website. As you will notice, the website will provide you with opportunities to learn about alumni achievements (See “Alumni Highlights”); to seek a colleague (see “Alumni Directory”); to browse through editions of our past newsletters (see “Alumni Newsletter”) and to learn about the AO Board members and meetings (see “Alumni Organization”).  Don’t be shy, browse through and give us feedback on what you found useful or on what we can improve.

As of 2008, all GSAPP graduates are automatically members of the GSAPP Alumni Organization. The Organization no longer charges membership dues, but continues to offer multiple events and activities for your service and enjoyment.  As a member organization of the Rutgers Alumni Association (RUAA), GSAPP AO strives to serve alumni, to support GSAPP and to strengthen the liaison among alumni, students, faculty and administration.  Such goals are only made possible through the voluntary time and work devoted by every Board member and through the close and supportive presence of Dean Stanley B. Messer in every Board meeting and in every GSAPP AO endeavor. I am deeply grateful to the energy and passion displayed by Dean Messer and by my colleagues. 

In 2008, a Commemorative Booklet in honor of GSAPP ‘s 30th anniversary and of the Psychological Clinic’s 75th anniversary was published by the GSAPP AO, detailing GSAPP’s fantastic history and the many programs and accomplishments it sponsored. A terrific DVD created by Donald Morgan, Psy.D., with historical interviews was also included in the booklet. It is a document worth having! To date, GSAPP has graduated over 800 psychologists and has professional representation in many countries across the globe. The standards of proper psychological practice and ethical conduct that earned GSAPP references such as “the jewel in Rutgers crown” or “the gold standard of professional schools of psychology” continue to be honored in GSAPP classrooms. It is with this spirit in mind that the AO Board welcomes you.

In 1974 GSAPP was born with Donald Peterson appointed by then President Bloustein its first Dean. The initiative to form an Alumni Organization began under Dean Perry London in 1991. In 1992 the first alumni meeting was held, and David Panzer, Psy.D. became the first AO President, an office he held until 1994. Up to 2009, the GSAPP AO has published two newsletters a year, maintained a website and three listservs (one interactive, one for announcements only and one for members interested in organizational psychology issues), and has sponsored multiple social and educational programs such as the Career Continuum programs and the receptions at the Zimmerli Museum. The AO has also provided a scholarship for an incoming student as well as opportunities for student involvement in the AO Board. GSAPP AO aims to continue to foster the supervisory and mentoring relationships it has established with GSAPP students.

I am deeply honored to have earned my Psy.D. at GSAPP and to have been a part of this family. I am also particularly honored to represent the GSAPP AO as its 2009 President. As we face multiple challenges, your participation and involvement is fundamental. Consider joining our Board, supervising a student, publishing a paper in our newsletter, or simply emailing me your thoughts and comments. I wish you a very successful and healthy year and hope to see you in our next gathering.

Sincerely,

Lucy Takagi, M.A., Psy.D.
2009 GSAPP Alumni Organization President
lucytakagi@yahoo.com