How much weight should be given to a prof's membership in professional organizations pertaining to tenure,rank, and personnel applications,and other academic variables? I can understand publications as a critical variable.But I have known some profs who belonged to organizations from A to Z.( I guess mortgage payments were very low at that time) and who attended lots of conventions.Do some organizations carry more clout than others? Do screening committees verify the veracity of a prof's listed memberships? Is it more scientifically currect to belong to the American Psychological Society than the American Psychological Association? I would imagine that membership in those academies of sciences such as trhe British Academy of Sciences , the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Ying Yang Kuo), and the Baghdad Academy of Sciences would carry lots of clout and an opportunity for grandstanding.
Michael Sylvester,PhD Daytona Beach,Florida ---
