WASHINGTON — The American Psychological Association Board of Directors today announced the retirement of Dr. Norman Anderson, who has served as chief executive officer of the organization since 2003.
Prior to the release of the independent review, Dr. Anderson had informed the Board he intended to retire at the end of 2016. Dr. Anderson felt that moving up his retirement date to the end of 2015 would allow the association to take another step in the important process of organizational healing, and to facilitate APA’s continuing focus on its broader mission.
The Board expressed its gratitude to Dr. Anderson for his distinguished tenure as the second longest serving CEO in the 123-year history of APA. Among the many accomplishments of APA under his leadership was the development, in 2009, of the first strategic plan in the history of APA. This plan continues to guide a significant portion of the work of the association in areas such as expanding psychology’s role in health care and advancing the science of psychology.
Dr. Anderson’s leadership to significantly increase APA’s investment in its publishing operation produced a substantial growth in revenue that allowed APA to develop new and innovative activities. Among these activities were the founding of the Center for Psychology and Health, the creation of the Psychology: Science in Action public education campaign, the expansion of our work to eliminate health disparities, the development of treatment guidelines to promote the translation of psychological science into health interventions and the expansion of APA’s presence on the Web and in social media with more than 35 million website visitors expected this year.
“We are grateful for Dr. Anderson’s distinguished tenure and numerous contributions,” the Board said. “The association has been very fortunate have Dr. Anderson as CEO for so many years, and we wish him well.”
The Board also announced the Aug. 15, 2015, retirement of Deputy Chief Executive Officer Dr. Michael Honaker.
Dr. Honaker helped shepherd the association through its many changes through the years and did much to make APA a great place to work. Many of the initiatives he put in place led to APA receiving the 2014 Washington Post Top Places to Work award. He is one of the staff’s most beloved officials.
APA also announced that Rhea K. Farberman, APA’s executive director for public and member communications has resigned, ending her 22-year tenure with the association on July 31, 2015.
Ms. Farberman’s contributions to APA during her tenure were numerous, and include leadership of APA’s award-winning magazines, the APA Office of Public Affairs and journals publicity program, editorial and user experience management of APA’s world-class website and the creation of many public education initiatives.
Ms. Farberman and the Board are in agreement that going forward APA plans to hire a chief communications officer who can provide a fresh start to the association’s communications needs as it grapples with the problems identified by the Hoffman report. While the Board has the utmost regard for Ms. Farberman’s skills, professionalism and integrity, it accepted her resignation.
The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA’s membership includes more than 122,500 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people’s lives.