An Introduction to The Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. James Hall, James D. Dana, and Alexander Winchell founded GSA in New York in 1888. As a descendent of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, GSA is the first enduring society for the geosciences in America. Headquarters offices have been in Boulder, Colorado, since 1968. The management of the Society's affairs is under the control of its elected officers (Executive Committee and Council).
GSA is an expanding global membership society with more than 21,600 members in more than 85 countries. Twenty percent of its members are students. The Society's primary activities are organizing scientific meetings and conferences and publishing scientific literature. Other activities include disbursing research grants, operating an employment matching and interview service, honoring outstanding scientific contributors with medals and awards, assisting teachers in geoscience education, and fostering public awareness of geoscience issues.
An individual may join GSA as a Professional Member, Student Member, Teacher Member or Affiliate Member. Established GSA members may be nominated and elected to Fellow status. GSA offers reduced membership dues to Students, Teachers, Senior Members and Senior Fellows. All members receive special benefits such as the monthly news magazine GSA Today, monthly e-newsletter GSA Connection, and reduced rates on GSA publications and meetings. All members have full voting rights.
The Society has published continuously since 1890, when the first issue of the GSA Bulletin appeared. The GSA Bulletin presently includes about 15 papers bimonthly in the classical, research-paper style. In 1973, the monthly journal Geology was introduced in response to the need for rapid publication of short, topical scientific articles. Today it features about 22 brief papers each month, and has become the most popular journal in the earth sciences. GSA Today, GSA Bulletin, Geology, and the Society's newest journal, Geosphere are also available online and twice a year on the GSA Journals on Compact Disc.
The Society has six regional sections throughout North America. These sections have their own management boards and conduct their own yearly meetings. Affiliation with a section is free for GSA members. The six sections are Cordilleran, Rocky Mountain, North-Central, South-Central, Northeastern, and Southeastern.
Seventeen specialty divisions, which any member may join, generally meet at the Annual Meeting of the Society. Most divisions have their own newsletters, which are published at various times throughout the year.
A number of Associated Societies often meet in conjunction with the GSA Annual Meeting and assist in developing the scientific program, thus ensuring a broad range of topics.
In 1980, the Geological Society of America Foundation was established to receive and administer contributions in support of GSA's mission. As an independent, tax-exempt organization, the Foundation accepts gifts by check or credit card, wire transfers, stock, and by trusts or bequests to the Society's programs. Since its inception, the Foundation funded a portion of the historic Decade of North American Geology project, several education and outreach programs, and recently completed a $10 million capital campaign. The Foundation also contributes to the GSA research grants program, and supplies matching student travel grants for each of GSA's six sections.
A recent evolution at the Society has resulted in an energized collaboration, Education and Outreach, that links established GSA education and outreach programs, teaching awards, professional development, student development, research grants.
The Institute for Earth Science and the Environment (IEE) offers several arenas for geoscientists to interface with public policy makers, foster mentoring relationships, and take an active role in heightening societal awareness of the fundamental importance of the geosciences to environmental challenges. IEE was created in 1989 and grew under the stewardship of its founder, Dr. Fred A. Donath, for the following six years. Dr. Donath believed that investing in IEE meant "investing in the wise use of the Earth." His original mission, "to offer a geoscience interface between the private and public sectors and the geological community on matters of the environment," remains IEE's central goal.
The earth sciences will face exciting opportunities brought about by the explosion of technology, research, and knowledge. The Geological Society of America is ready to meet the challenges of this decade and beyond.