PSA Committees

Below is a brief description of each committee.  For a full description of the committee’s responsibilities, current membership, and minutes of meetings, click on the committee name. All of these committees are advisory to the PSA Board of Directors (Council); this means that they may propose items, policies, etc., but that only Council can actually make decisions that are binding for PSA, and only Council can set PSA policy and speak for PSA.

The year following each name indicates the conference (Annual Meeting) at which that member completes their service. For example,those who have a (25) following their names complete their service at the end of the 2025 conference in San Francisco.

Do you have an interest in serving on a PSA Committee? While the Committee on Committes makes committee appointments, they are often looking for interested members to volunteer their interest. Please take some time and let us know if you are interested in serving either in 2024, in 2025, or in both. You can do so by clicking here to submit the PSA Committee Interest Form. 

Elected Committees:

Nominations Committee:  nominates candidates for membership on the three elected committees of the Association: The Publications Committee, the Committee on Committees, and the Nominations Committee and for each elective office in the Association: President, Vice-President, and Members of the PSA Council.

Publications Committee:   formulates policies for all publications of the PSA, subject to ratification by Council, including recommending editors for the journal Sociological Perspectives; reviews annual report by editors; and periodically manages negotiating contracts with publishers.

Committee on Committees:   recommends appointments to appointed committees of the PSA, ensuring that the Northern, Southern, and Central regions are represented.

Program Committee:

Each year a Program Committee is appointed by the President-elect and the Program Committee Chair.  This committee, with each member responsible for a particular topical area, works to review papers and proposals for sessions submitted through the online submission system and formulate them into cohesive sessions, as well as coordinating special sessions. You can find the list of Program Committee members on the page for each year’s conference.

Appointed Committees:

Membership Committee:   assists  and advises the Officers  and Board of Directors of the PSA in recruitment and maintenance of membership in the Association.

Awards Committee:  administers procedures and arrangements for bestowal of awards by the Association. In addition, The Social Conscience Committee selects a worthy community-based organization in the city in which the PSA holds its annual meeting to receive the PSA Social Conscience Award.

Committee on Teaching:  concerns itself with issues relating to the teaching of sociology at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, including teaching theory and methods, curriculum program development, and other professional concerns related to teaching sociology. The Committee shall explore ways of improving the teaching of sociology through such efforts as organizing teaching workshops and regular paper and/or panel sessions at the conference and/or through other appropriate means.

Committee on the Status of Racial and Ethnic Minorities:  encourages the participation of racial and ethnic minorities in the discipline and in the affairs of the PSA, and may report its finding and recommendations for enhancing this participation to Council and to the membership of the Association.

Committee on Rights, Liberties, and Social Justice (formerly Committee on Civil Rights and Civil Liberties):  The function of the Committee on Rights, Liberties, and Social Justice is to propose and organize sessions, roundtables, and workshops that support the integration of social justice issues in academia and raise awareness of civil rights pedagogy for faculty working with students and community partners. Further, the Committee seeks to promote and foster a community within the Pacific Sociological Association that is committed in social activism.

Committee on Freedom of Research and Teaching:  is concerned with the maintenance of academic freedom among sociologists and with the development and maintenance of fair and equitable procedures and practices for employing, promoting, and terminating the employment of sociologists in the western region of the United States. This committee may investigate complaints referred to it by members, develop appropriate procedures for conducting such investigations, and report to Council the results of these investigations along with recommendations for Council action.

Committee on the Status of Women:  The Committee on the Status of Women in Sociology supports scholarship and activism by or for women-identified people in the discipline of sociology, in the affairs of PSA, and in the creation of relevant conference sessions. It reports to the Council and membership of the Association its findings and recommendations for enhancing participation.

Committee on the Status of LGBTQIA+ Persons in Sociology:  monitors the participation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons in the discipline of sociology and the affairs of the PSA. The committee reports to Council the status and concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons within the western region.

Student Affairs Committee:  concerns itself with the participation of both undergraduate and graduate students in the association, such as planning the student reception at the annual conference and organizing sessions and workshops that students can participate in and/or attend.

Committee on Practicing, Applied and Clinical Sociology:  The Committee on Practicing, Applied, and Clinical Sociology (sometimes known as Applied, Public, and Clinical Sociology) seeks to provide resources for students, faculty, and non-academic practitioners of sociological work. We recognize that many professionals outside academia utilize the sociological imagination and the sociological research method in their careers.

Endowment Committee:  raises funds for the PSA Endowment.

Committee on Community Colleges:  concerns itself with matters that relate to the participation of community college faculty and students in the PSA and the discipline of sociology, including planning sponsored sessions and/or activities for the conference.

Emeritus and Retired Sociologists Committee:  provides a shared intellectual and social community where retirees may continue their engagement with teaching and scholarly activities, including organizing activities at the annual meeting.

Ad Hoc Committees:

In addition to the above committees, short term ad hoc committees are convened and members appointed to them by the PSA Council (Board of Directors). These committees work on specific and focused tasks which do not clearly fall under the purview of any of the standing committees.