February 24, 2015    Volume 34, Issue 3

In This Issue
FEATURED NEWS
COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10 - Still Time to Register!
COSSA's Analysis for the President's FY 2016 Budget Request
COSSA IN ACTION
COSSA Develops State by State Funding Fact Sheets
COSSA & NDD Partners Call for End to Sequester
CONGRESSIONAL NEWS
Congress Introduces Flurry of "Health" Bills
Senators Release Innovation for Healthier Americans Report, Request Feedback
Senators Release Innovation for Healthier Americans Report, Request Feedback
FEDERAL AGENCY & ADMINISTRATION NEWS
New NIJ Director Sworn In
NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering
NCHS Seeks Health Statistics Service Fellow
COSSA MEMBER SPOTLIGHT
COSSA Welcomes Fielding Graduate University
ACJS Introduces Policy Notes
EVENTS CALENDAR

featured News

COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, March 9-10
Still Time to Register!


The 2015 COSSA Annual Meeting and Social and Behavioral Science Advocacy Day is fast approaching. Join us on March 9-10, 2015 in Washington, DC for a day of discussion on federal issues impacting social and behavioral science research. The preliminary program is available here. Visit the COSSA Annual Meeting page for full details.

COSSA's Analysis for the President's FY 2016 Budget Request


President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress on February 2, officially kicking off the FY 2016 appropriations process. COSSA has released its analysis of the President's budget request. The 62-page report provides funding details for all federal departments, agencies, and programs important to social and behavioral science research. It outlines the President's funding proposals as they compare to current (FY 2015) levels. In addition, the document serves as a helpful catalog of social science programs and initiatives across the federal government.

COSSA IN ACTION

COSSA Develops State-by-State Funding Fact Sheets


COSSA has developed a series of fact sheets describing the amount of federal funding for social and behavioral science that is provided to each state. These fact sheets are intended to illustrate the economic impact of federal investment in social and behavioral science research, including as a driver for innovation at universities across the country. While federal investment in social science research is significant ($921 million), it pales in comparison to the total amount of annual federal funding for all of science and engineering ($40.1 billion).

COSSA & NDD Partners Call for End to Sequester


On February 18, COSSA joined more than 2,100 organizations on a
letter to Congress calling for an end to sequestration in fiscal year (FY) 2016 and protection of nondefense discretionary (NDD) spending from additional cuts. The letter was organized by NDD United, a broad coalition of organizations that have banded together to combat cuts to NDD funding. Participants represent sectors from science and health to environment, justice, and civil rights.

Congressional News

Congress Introduces Flurry of "Health" Bills

 

Over the last few months, a number of bills in support the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have been introduced by members of the 114th Congress. These authorizing bills would address various aspects of NIH, including increasing the amount of funding that can be appropriated to it.

 

Read on for details on the follow bills:

Senators Release Innovation for Healthier Americans Report, Request Feedback


On January 29, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN.), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Richard Burr (R-NC) released Innovation for Healthier Americans: Identifying Opportunities for Meaningful Reform to Our Nation's Medical Product Discovery and Development. The report addresses challenges to getting safe treatments, devices, and cures to patients more quickly and effectively, looking specifically at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

 

Read on for details.

HELP Committee Approves Strengthening Education through Research Act


On January 28, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the Strengthening Education through Research Act (S. 227). The bill reauthorizes the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA). ESRA authorizes funding for the research activities of the U.S. Department of Education, including the Institute for Education Sciences (IES). The legislation would authorize an appropriation of $612 million for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and $3.2 billion between 2016-2020 to support federal educational research, statistical analysis, and other activities.

 

Read on for details.

FEderal Agency & Administration News

New NIJ Director Sworn In


On February 9, Dr. Nancy Rodriguez (Arizona State University) was sworn in as director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Rodriguez's research expertise includes topics such as collateral consequences of imprisonment; issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, crime, and justice; and longitudinal studies of families affected by maternal/paternal incarceration. She was appointed by President Obama in October 2014.

NSF Releases Report on Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering


The National Science Foundation (NSF) National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) has released its biennial report, Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering. Mandated by the Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act, the report details the participation of these underrepresented groups in science and engineering. The data is organized by enrollment, field of degree, occupation, employment status, and academic employment. More information, including downloads of the report digest and data, are available on the NCSES website.

NCHS Seeks Health Statistics Service Fellow


The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is accepting applications for a Service Fellowship in the Analytic Studies Branch of the Office of Analysis and Epidemiology. The Fellow will be primarily responsible for preparing and disseminating Health, United States, NCHS' flagship report. Qualified applicants will have graduate degrees in the social sciences, health sciences, statistics, public health, or a related field (e.g., demography, public policy, or epidemiology). More information on the fellowship and application process is on the NCHS website. Applications are due March 31, 2015.

COSSA Member Spotlight

COSSA Welcomes Fielding Graduate University 


COSSA is thrilled to welcome Fielding Graduate University as its newest university member. Located in Santa Barbara, CA, Fielding boasts scholarship and practice in fields such as clinical psychology and media psychology, human and organizational development, and educational leadership and change.

 

COSSA's full membership list can be viewed here.

ACJS Introduces Policy Notes

 

The Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences (ACJS), a leading authority on criminal justice education, research, and policy analysis, has announced the creation of Policy Notes, a new series of free online, policy-focused abstract summaries that highlight the findings and implications of leading peer-reviewed research from ACJS' flagship publication Justice Quarterly. The first Policy Notes looks at what the latest research on residence restrictions for sex offenders mean for future housing policy and is available here.

Events Calendar 



Congressional Briefing - NIH 101: Peer Review & Priority Setting, Washington, DC, February 27, 2015


Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences Annual Meeting, Orlando, FL, March 3-7, 2015


Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations Annual Meeting, New Brunswick, NJ, March 5-7, 2015


COSSA Annual Meeting & Advocacy Day, Washington, DC, March 9-10, 2015


American Psychosomatic Society Annual Scientific Meeting, Savannah, GA, March 18-21, 2015


Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, March 19-21, 2015


Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA, March 25-29, 2015


Association for Asian Studies Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, March 26-29, 2015


Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Kansas City, MO, March 26-29, 2015


A list of COSSA members' annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA webpage.


COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in the Events Calendar and on our website should send an email to jmilton@cossa.org.

 
Consortium of Social Science Associations 
Members 

Governing Members  

American Anthropological Association
American Association for Public Opinion Research
American Economic Association
American Educational Research Association
American Historical Association
American Political Science Association
American Psychological Association
American Society of Criminology
American Sociological Association
American Statistical Association
Association of American Geographers
Association of American Law Schools
Law and Society Association
Linguistic Society of America
Midwest Political Science Association
National Communication Association
Population Association of America
Society for Personality and Social Psychology
Society for Research in Child Development
  
Membership Organizations
 
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences
American Evaluation Association
American Finance Association
American Psychosomatic Society
Association for Asian Studies
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Association of Academic Survey Research Organizations
Association of Research Libraries
Council on Social Work Education
Economic History Association
History of Science Society
Justice Research and Statistics Association
Midwest Sociological Society
National Association of Social Workers
North American Regional Science Council
Rural Sociological Society
Social Science History Association
Society for Research on Adolescence
Society for Social Work and Research
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
Society of Behavioral Medicine
Southern Political Science Association
Southern Sociological Society
Southwestern Social Science Association
 
Centers and Institutes

American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Political and Social Science
American Council of Learned Societies
American Institutes for Research
The Brookings Institution
Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences
Cornell Institute for Social and Economic Research
Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan
Institute for Social Science Research,
        University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Institute for Women's Policy Research
NORC at the University of Chicago
Owens Institute for Behavioral Research, University of Georgia
Population Reference Bureau
RTI International
Social Science Research Council
Vera Institute of Justice

Colleges and Universities  
 
Arizona State University
Boston University
Brown University
Carnegie Mellon University
Clark University
Columbia University
Cornell University
Duke University
Fielding Graduate University
George Mason University
Georgetown University
Harvard University
Indiana University
John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY
Johns Hopkins University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
New York University
Northwestern University
Pennsylvania State University
Princeton University
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Stanford University
Stony Brook University, SUNY
Texas A&M University
The George Washington University
The Ohio State University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Irvine
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Diego
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of Chicago
University of Illinois
University of Iowa
University of Maryland
University of Michigan
University of Minnesota
University of Missouri
University of Nebraska, Lincoln
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
University of Oklahoma
University of Pennsylvania
University of South Carolina
University of Texas, Austin
University of Texas, San Antonio
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Washington University in St. Louis
West Virginia University
Yale University
 

COSSA

    Executive Director:  Wendy A. Naus
Deputy DirectorAngela L. Sharpe
Assistant Director for Public Affairs: Julia Milton
  

Address all inquiries to COSSA at newsletter@cossa.orgTelephone: (202) 842-3525

  

The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) is a nonprofit advocacy organization working to promote sustainable federal funding for social and behavioral science research and federal policies that positively impact the conduct of research.

 

ISSN 0749-4394.