Annual Report 2011: FY July 1, 2010-June 30, 2011
Education
The Education Committee continued to grow in its capacity as a resource and advisory group to the AAPG Education Directorate. The committee represents a critical adjunct to the Education Department and its mission to not only provide a member service, but also perform as a revenue source for the Association. Coordination with and response to the day-to-day business of the Education Department remain areas for improvement. Nevertheless, the emergence and broader acceptance of MyAAPG.org by committee members continues to help improve our support of the department. Furthermore, the efforts of the Education Department staff to add structure to the role of the committee should not be understated. The success of the committee in its support role is significantly facilitated by the high level of commitment by AAPG staff to “make the system work.”
Two committee meetings were held: November 13, 2010, in Houston–mid-year meeting and April 13th, 2011, in Houston- annual meeting.
In addition, our committee reviewed 10 new course proposals in this fiscal year and approved 7. Of those seven, two have been scheduled in North America in 2011, two were scheduled through the Asia/Pacific office, and the other three will most likely be added in 2012.
The Committee subjected itself to some introspection regarding its roles and responsibilities at a focus session following the 2010 annual meeting in New Orleans. Convened by a Decision Strategies facilitator, the committee members spent a day-long session considering various options by which we could define and improve the side boards and central thread of the committee’s terms of reference. Emerging from that effort was a refined matrix that during the last year we have pared down to three significant strategies that should guide the support role of the committee.
- Interdisciplinary approach: There is an established consensus that not only should the committee and the program it supports strive to merge multiple disciplines into course offerings, but this should also be broadened to cross-linked programs with other societies (i.e., SPE, SEG, SPWLA, etc.)
- Virtual Training: Already well established through the efforts of Susan Nash in her role as AAPG’s education and professional development director, this niche is one that is clearly a growth opportunity for the Education Department. Not shared by most of the competing entities, virtual training represents an opportunity for the society to not only serve its North American membership, but open significant doors to serve international members.
- Geologic Foundations: Long regarded as the premier source of classic geosciences continuing education, the committee recognizes the opportunity to continue growth in this area as well as expand the highly respected AAPG Field Seminar series.
With a revised view of our mission as a committee and support organization for the Education Directorate, the committee turned its attention to improving and growing in its role as a resource to the society. Similarly, there was a desire to act as an “agent-of-change” with regard to some areas of intra-society coordination during the last year. Areas in which we feel we made improvements are
- Coordination between Convention activities and Education Department offerings. Through dialog at both the AAPG staff level and liaison with other committees, progress has been made regarding the integration of the continuing education offerings at annual conventions. For example, in the case of the 2012 event at Long Beach there is continuing dialog regarding the resources and support that the established Education program can offer regarding program offerings at the annual meeting. Organizing committees and host societies now have an expanded resource to help populate their programs.
- Establishment of a formal liaison role established between Education and Research and Publication committees to identify future course topics. The Education Committee recognizes that emerging geosciences topics that come in front of both the research and publication committees represent an opportunity to capture new course material for the continuing education effort in terms of both content and instructors. We have established the presence of an Education Committee member on the two committees for this purpose.
- Development of informal liaisons with the six AAPG Sections for the following purposes:
- scout future course topics and instructors,
- (promote AAPG Education offerings that could be run at the Section meetings, and
- help prevent conflicts in content and scheduling of educational events.
- Preliminary discussion with Sections Committee regarding attendance of an Education Committee member at the respective Section annual board meetings. Although preliminary, there is a plan to have a presence at each of the section meetings that remain for 2011. Obviously, the objective is to make the resources of the Education Department more available to the sections and at the same time identify technical content presented as section meetings that can be captured into the continuing education program.
A continuing central theme in support of the Education Department is the recruitment of fresh and relevant content and instructors into the program. To this end, the committee members are all charged with helping identify such material and presenters at a global scale. The committee recognizes it is not omniscient regarding emerging topics and in that context we recognize a need to involve a broader sector of the membership in this endeavor. Work continues at the individual committee member level to expand our recruiting efforts.
Similar to our charge with regard to growing the content of the program and filling a ready and relevant support role for the Education Department, we are humbled by the challenge of providing for a global membership and moving beyond the traditional ethnocentricity of some of the legacy offerings. As we commence a new year of committee activity several initiatives already commenced will receive our focus.
- Assisting the Education Department in refinements and expansion of the “Career Pathways” matrix will help bring the AAPG’s program to parity with other competing sources of professional development. A subcommittee has been formed to help categorize the content within the 2012 catalog into career-relevant classifications.
- As several members roll-off the committee with the expiry of their terms, there is a proactive effort to alter the demographics of committee leadership and membership to more appropriately reflect the membership of the society. Particular effort will be devoted to recruiting from both the younger and international ranks of the society.
- A renewed effort will be launched to provide a higher level of Committee interaction and coordination with the regions. The presence of a standing Education subcommittee chair for the European Region is probably a template to be applied to the other regions. Communication with regional offices for both Europe and the Asia/Pacific regions can be improved with a benefit going both ways.
- A subcommittee already formed to assist with the development of new topics for both e-symposia and GTW’s can be strengthened as a priority to help grow offerings in these niches.
- A greater utilization of headcount data from technical sessions at annual meetings will assist a new subcommittee in helping guide content selection of Education Department offerings.
- Improved liaison with other standing committees as well as the Divisions will be a priority for 2011–2012. Every entity within the society is feeling the “squeeze” on the annual calendar with regard to the offering of continuing education material and associated workshops. Greater use of the calendar scheduling available through MyAAPG.org may offer a vehicle for improved communication and fewer conflicts.
- A continued effort to create a “speakers bureau” list in collaboration with the Distinguished Lecturer series will hopefully come to completion in this current year.
- A renewed effort to draw more members and participation from national oil companies will focus on the vehicle through which leadership within these companies can become familiar with the benefits of AAPG participation and resources.
- Although committee leadership positions for the next set of terms remain pending at the time of this report, the committee intends to maintain the original template of a “leadership group” (two co-chairs and two co-vice-chairs) for the benefit of a closely held advisory group to the Education Department. Traditionally, this leadership group meets face-to-face quarterly with AAPG staff and adjusts committee roles throughout the year to best support the Education Directorate. The “inner circle” concept appears to have benefit to an AAPG Department, which serves as a revenue source for the Association and that needs support on a shorter timeline.
Janok Bhattacharya and Skip Rhodes, Co-chairs Juli Hennings and Mary Beth Wagner, Co-vice chairs
Committee Members (FY2010–2011):
Samuel Akande, Donna Anderson, Juli Bell, Stephen Bend, Janok Bhattacharya (co-chair), Denise Butler, Robert Clarke, Amy Day-Lewis, James DiSiena, John Dolson, Martin Dubois, Ann Givan, William Haskett, Juli Hennings (co-vice chair), Creties Jenkins, John Kaldi, Joseph Lambiase, Jeffrey Nunn, Jessica Poteet, Skip Rhodes (co-chair), Tim Sheehy, Lori Summa, MaryBeth Wagner (co-vice chair), John Wickham, and Laura Wray