House of Delegates
I am very excited to see we have a representative group of delegates for our region. If you are having problems or just need to ask a question please contact the delegate in your area for help.
One of the main functions of a delegate is to review individuals for membership. Right now, membership is much in debate. The two that are most controversial are Active and Associate membership. In this newsletter, I want to address what is currently in the bylaws. Reviewing what is a member and how you can become one.
In the bylaws there are 5 types of memberships, Active, Emeritus, Honorary, Students and Associates. This time we House of Delegates will only review Active, and Associates. In Section 2, “Definition of Term “Member” is as follows: “Unless otherwise expressly provided in these Bylaws, the term “member” shall refer only to Active, Emeritus, and Honorary Members. Only members may hold office, vote in Association affairs, sponsor membership applications, or refer to themselves as members of the Association.”
First we will discuss what it takes to qualify, and then what the applicant needs to do to apply for membership.
To qualify to be a “Member” you must be engaged in the practice or teaching of geology, hold a Bachelor’s, Master’s or Doctor’s degree in a geological science from a college of acceptable academic standards and have at least 3 years experience if you have a bachelor’s degree, 2 with a Master’s and 1 with a Doctor’s. There are some degree waivers in place based on current professional activity and standing in the profession which the Executive Committee can waive.
To be an Associate you must have graduated from a college with acceptable academic standards, and employed in a field associated with geology. There also are some degree waivers in place based on current professional activity and standing in the profession which the Executive Committee can waive.
The following three paragraphs are where most of the controversy lies. In addition for both the Active and Associate categories, you must submit a formal application form authorized by the Executive Committee, signed by the applicant.
For Active membership your application must be endorsed by not less than three individuals, two of whom need to be active members in good standing. Each of your sponsors will also have to fill out a form.
For Associate you only need one Active member signature.
After the application is reviewed and accepted, the applicant’s name is then published. After 60 days of being published and no reason is presented that the applicant should not be accepted, you are notified of your election to membership.
Many Europeans in the AAPG have found themselves to be Associates and not Active members mostly because of the lack of available active members for sponsors. This means you can not vote, run for office, be a committee chair, or, and this is the big sticking point, sponsor someone for membership and refer to themselves as being “Members” of the Association.
The good news is there are many people working on changing the above to make membership more efficient and easier to obtain. However, the AAPG and its members have always enjoyed a good reputation, due in fact to our stringent procedures. So it should be interesting to see what transgresses.
As always we are open for your comments. Make your comment to the delegate nearest to you.