Oceanography | March 2017
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Was Bob Dylan our muse? Although
he was really singing about something
else, I’d like to believe he was think-
ing about global warming and sea level
rise and the gathering of people in The
Oceanography Society.
Come gather ‘round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.
Bob Dylan, ©1963/1991
Anyway, Bob won a Nobel Prize in
December, so let’s claim him. You all
know the song and can read the rest of the
lyrics to remember what it is really about.
The times are indeed changing as we
enter a new year, with a new administra-
tion in Washington, DC, new challenges,
and new opportunities. Changes in the
United States have hit like a tsunami, and
I’ve heard from many TOS members who
are feeling pretty nervous. As I start my
term as TOS President, I’d like to high-
light some things that aren’t changing,
and then some things that are.
First, thanks to strong and steady lead-
ership from Past President Susan Lozier
and a highly engaged Council over the
past two years, TOS is shipshape and
is riding on an even keel. We hope that
won’t change. Member engagement and
society finances are strong. Our journal
Oceanography is highly ranked (third in
impact factor of all ocean sciences jour-
nals), thanks to the stalwart efforts of lead
TOS—
The Times They Are a Changin’… Again
editor Ellen Kappel, and is entirely open
access. And we are supremely blessed to
have Jenny Ramurai continue as Executive
Director. Jenny is the soul of TOS, and as
I said in my comments before presenting
the Jerlov Award to Curtis Mobley at the
Ocean Optics meeting in Victoria, Jenny
has a knack for making everything fun.
I spent the last year or so learning
about the inner workings of TOS, and
the most important thing I learned is that
TOS is, as always, here for its members.
But who are the members? Did
you know that TOS is, and has always
been, an international organization?
Although we are incorporated as a non-
profit in Washington, DC, and there-
fore bound by US law, our name is
“The Oceanography Society,” not “the
American Oceanography Society.” Our
founders chose this name intentionally,
and it gives us a global perspective. About
one-third of our membership comes from
outside the United States, and represents
66 nations. Of the past six meetings sup-
ported by TOS, half have been outside the
United States (Canada, Spain, Scotland).
All our members around the world are
important to the Society and to the field.
We are a community unified by our
love of the sea, and by our shared search
for truth through rational inquiry and
rigorous peer review. Oceanography is an
inherently international activity, and our
science thrives when minds, communi-
cations, and borders, are open. National
interests sometimes involve science, but
the science itself is apolitical. We stand
by our principles and affirm the need
for cooperation and collaboration in sci-
ence, along with freedom of inquiry, free-
dom to publish and publicize scientific
results, and the sanctity of scientific data.
Preserved well, our data age and grow in
value like a fine wine.
But what of politics? We all have our
own opinions, and from sitting in com-
mittees I can confirm that there is a broad
range of views among our members. By
our nonprofit charter, TOS is a scientific
organization, not a political one. What
does this mean? As an organization we
are specifically disallowed from partici-
pating in political campaigns either for
or against any candidates running for
office, and “no substantial part of the
activities of the corporation shall be…
attempting to influence legislation” (TOS
Articles of Incorporation, 1988). These
specific restrictions, which are a provi-
sion in the US tax code known as “The
Johnson Amendment,” have been true
(since 1954) of all nonprofit organiza-
tions incorporated in the United States.
Those of you watching current US news
will be aware that there is discussion of
repealing this amendment. We’ll see what
happens with that.
It is worth noting that these restric-
tions do not apply to our individual mem-
bers, who are, of course, free to influence
legislation and engage in political activ-
ity as they wish (other countries may have
laws that apply to our members there).
Further, the Johnson Amendment does
not infringe on the free speech of TOS to
say pretty much whatever it wants about
issues, as long as it isn’t about candidates
running for office or specific legislation.
So I will say it again—oceanography is
an inherently international activity, and
our science thrives when minds, com-
munications, and borders, are open. This
has always been the case, and this has not
changed, and we are free to advocate for
those principles.