Saturday at the APA convention, APA President Ron Levant, a member of Division 42, presented a Presidential Citation to Tom O’Connor. The Citation read:

[The] American Psychological Association Hereby Presents This Presidential Citation to Thomas O’Connor, For extraordinary leadership, integrity, and dedication to psychology’s ideals and development as a profession. Tom’s participation in work groups created by both the American Psychological Association and the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards advanced the discipline in such vital areas as prescriptive authority for psychologists, the process by which psychologists are licensed, and continuing education programs that are both relevant and effective.
As Executive Officer of the California Board of Psychology, Tom worked to ensure the validity of the state licensing process and to discontinue use of the unvalidated oral examination. The result was a licensing process that was more fair, scientifically sound, and legally defensible. Under Tom’s leadership, the California Board of Psychology received the Association of State and Provincial Psychology Boards 1997 President’s Award for innovations, and Tom became the first non-psychologist to be awarded the ASPPB Roger C. Smith Award for his outstanding national contributions.

Tom’s thoughtfulness, courage, and creativity have benefited the science and profession of psychology and all of us who are fortunate to call ourselves psychologists.

If you’d like to drop Tom a note, his email address is <tsosac@comcast.net>.

Return to Top