SARMAC Student Caucus

SARMAC as an organization aims to provide a platform where memory and cognition researchers can regularly share their work at conferences and provide interconnectivity and resources for researchers between conferences. These overarching aims have shown the society's ability to shape the academic field of psychology, and what the field contributes to the world. Such progress necessitates a lens toward the future. The future of SARMAC is its students. Aligning itself with the broad aims of SARMAC, the Student Caucus provides opportunities for student researchers to attend the SARMAC conference (such as through travel funding or abstract writing assistance), as well as student networking and social events between SARMAC conferences. Additionally, the Student Caucus supports research endeavours of students through grants (for past award winners click here). These opportunities are the foundation of building future generations of great psychological scientists.

 

Members of the Student Caucus

The current Student Caucus comprises of:

President: Laura Stevens, (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom).
Secretary/Treasurer: Isabelle Slattery, (Flinders University, Australia).
Social Chair: Didem Yurdakul, (University of Aberdeen, United Kingdom).
Committee members: Dara Zwemer, (University of Utah, United States) & Jackson Cate, (Waikato University, New Zealand).

The Student Caucus is voted in by membership electoral vote every two years. To be placed on the ballot, SARMAC student members can nominate themselves for any/all positions. The next call for nominations/ vote will take place in Autumn 2025.

Please note that there will be plenty of opportunities to assist with Student Caucus work and implementation, regardless of committee membership. If you would like to help the Student Caucus directly or have any queries or feedback for the committee, please contact students@sarmac.org


Conference Abstract Writing Assistance

The SARMAC Student Caucus is now offering abstract writing assistance for all student submissions to SARMAC XV! If you wish to either have written feedback, or a short Zoom about your abstract with one of our Student Caucus members, please submit your feedback preference (written or Zoom), your abstract draft, and a rough outline of what you would like assistance with to students@sarmac.org. Examples of the types of help we are able to give might include reducing word count, proofreading, or discussing elements that might be unclear or overemphasised. The final deadline for this service is 20th November 2024, to ensure high-quality and timely feedback before final submission.

Please note this service is purely optional and has the sole purpose of providing support for those who wish to have it. We will not directly re-write any abstract, only offer recommendations. Using this service is in no way predictive of whether an abstract will be accepted for SARMAC XV, and submitting an abstract for writing assistance does not count as submission for SARMAC XV. Those reviewing abstract submissions will not know in any way who has received help from the Student Caucus.

Terms of Reference

Article I: Student Caucus Policies

  1. The Policies of the SARMAC Student Caucus are authorized by the Governing Board of the Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition.

  2. The Policies provide for the organizational and administrative structure, personnel policies and procedures for the Caucus. They are maintained and approved by the Executive Committee and Student Caucus Executive Board.

Article II: Name, Affiliation, and Purpose

  1. The name of this committee is “The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition (SARMAC) Student Caucus”, hereafter referred to as the Caucus

  2. The committee is comprised of student members of SARMAC.

  3. The purpose of the committee is to represent, protect, and advance the interests and goals of the body of student members of SARMAC. It seeks to enhance the professional development and education of its members in the science of psychology.

Article III: Membership

  1. The committee is comprised of student members of SARMAC, and accordingly, is a committee entirely within The Society for Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, Inc.

Article IV: Executive Committee, Officers, and Elections

  1. The SARMAC Student Caucus Executive Committee shall supervise the affairs of the Student Caucus, subject to these policies.

  2. Each officer shall perform the specific duties listed herein, as well as general duties such as developing student programming, holding elections, developing the budget, appointing standing committees, and so on.

  3. The SARMAC Student Caucus Executive Committee consists of a President, Past President, Secretary-Treasurer, Social Chair, and two Committee Officers.

    President: The President leads and oversees the SARMAC Student Caucus, and shall be responsible for ensuring the Student Caucus and its Executive Committee meet their obligations and responsibilities. The President is also responsible for communication with the SARMAC Governing Board.

    Past President: Once a new President is elected, the former President will assume the office of Past President. If a President is reelected to a second term, the Past President will likewise continue for a second term. In the event the previous President cannot fill the position of Past President, the position will be filled by the previous Secretary- Treasurer, Social Chair, or a Committee Officer. The Past President will serve primarily in an advisory role for the Executive Committee. The Past President will vote on Student Caucus issues only when needed to provide a fifth vote (in the event another Committee Member is absent, recuses themselves from a vote, or a position if vacant).

    Secretary-Treasurer: The Secretary-Treasurer serves as the custodian of the Student Caucus records and is responsible for keeping minutes of meetings (including email or other digital correspondences), fulfilling any publishing and printing duties, and maintaining the Student Caucus webpage on the official SARMAC website. Treasurer: The Treasurer is responsible for the financial concerns of the Student Caucus. The Treasurer is responsible for drafting a yearly budget (to be approved by the Executive Board and the SARMAC Secretary/Treasurer), as well as maintenance of the budget. This maintenance includes distribution of funds for awards, grants, and activities. The Treasurer is also responsible (in conjunction with the Social Chair) for fundraising initiatives. Under the direction of the SARMAC Secretary/Treasurer and Executive Director, the Student Caucus Treasurer is responsible for complying with SARMAC, Inc. IRS code 501 (c) (3) requirements as a tax-exempt corporation. The SARMAC Secretary/Treasurer and Executive Director will be co-signers of any financial accounts that are set up by the Student Caucus Treasurer, and any such financial accounts will be SARMAC, Inc. accounts.

    Social Chair: The Social Chair coordinates social activities and communications. This includes, but is not limited to, creation and maintenance of accounts on social media platforms, maintenance of the bi-monthly newsletter, advertisement of Student Caucus activities, and coordination social events at conferences, with particular emphasis on coordinating fundraising initiatives.

    Committee Officers (2): The two committee officers work with the rest of the Student Caucus Executive Committee to supervise the affairs of the Student Caucus.

  4. The terms of the Executive Committee officers shall be two years. Executive Committee officers must be members of the SARMAC Student Caucus, are expected to attend the SARMAC conferences, and maintain student membership of the Society for the duration of their term. Normally, elections for Executive Committee officers will be conducted electronically in early November, with terms for all officers beginning January 1.

Article V: Budget and Reporting of Student Caucus Activities

  1. The annual budget of the Caucus shall be prepared by the Secretary-Treasurer of the Caucus with approval of the Caucus Executive Committee. The Secretary-Treasurer shall coordinate on budgetary planning with the SARMAC Secretary-Treasurer and a designated member of the SARMAC Governing Board.

  2. The annual budget of the Student Caucus shall be approved by the SARMAC Governing Board. All expenditures of the Students Caucus shall be under the oversight and authority of the SARMAC Secretary-Treasurer.

  3. The President of the Caucus shall be responsible for providing an annual report of Caucus activities and budgetary expenditures to the SARMAC Governing Board.

Article VI: Standing Committees

  1. Standing committees will be formed in the following manner: Committee chairpersons and members will be recommended to the President by Executive Committee officers and appointed by the President with the approval a majority of the Executive Committee. Chairpersons are responsible for recording the minutes of committee meetings with the Executive Committee to include the names of those present at each meeting and the proceedings of all meetings. Chairpersons and committee members will serve the length of the term of the existing Executive Committee.

Article VII: Activities

  1. The SARMAC Student Caucus is responsible for designing and overseeing programs and activities to accomplish the goals of the organization. These activities may include, but are not limited to:

    1. Student Travel Awards

    2. Small Grant Awards

    3. Student Presentation Awards at the SARMAC conference

    4. Student Event Activities

  2. The Executive Board shall create Advisory committees (See Article IV) to select recipients of Travel and Grant awards. Coordination of other activities may be assigned to a committee at the discretion of the Executive Board.

Article VIII: Approval and Amendment of the Policies

  1. Policies shall be amended by a two-thirds vote of those SARMAC Student Caucus members present at an official meeting of the SARMAC Student Caucus during the bi-annual meeting of SARMAC. Proposed amendments must be advertised to all Caucus members no less than one month (30 days) before the meeting.

  2. Any amendment to the Policies must be approved the SARMAC Governing Board.

  3. Policy amendments may be suggested by any SARMAC Student Caucus member. For an amendment to be put to a general vote, the Executive Committee must approve the amendment with a majority vote to be conducted in a timely manner after receiving the suggested amendment. For such an amendment to be put to a general vote, the Executive Board must find that the amendment is both feasible and serves the goals of this organization.

Article IX: Authority of the Governing Board

  1. The Governing Board may, at its sole discretion, take any action it sees fit with respect to any aspect of the Student Caucus.