Oceanography | Vol.29, No.4
M. Susan Lozier, TOS President
In an effort to provide further synthesis and focus,
the TOS Council is considering reintroducing
meetings that characterized the society in its first decade,
namely, small format meetings with well-defined top-
ics. These meetings would focus, for example, on one
or two of the questions identified in the Sea Change
report. The idea here would be to synthesize the current
understanding of a particular research question and to
place future research in the context of related questions
and funding opportunities.
Though relatively slow to fully understand the
changing landscape for PhD graduates in ocean
sciences, TOS is now committed to addressing this
change on two fronts. First, TOS plans to pilot a mento-
ring program for graduate students interested in explor-
ing careers other than academia. This mentoring pro-
gram, set to begin in early 2017, will pair students across
the country with two senior oceanographers, each with a
different career. Though it is a small start, this program,
once expanded, could provide a valuable network for
graduate students to learn about the host of careers avail-
able to oceanographers.
That network will only be possible if TOS works on
expanding its nonacademic membership. This expansion
is the second front in our effort to serve our graduate stu-
dent members and, simultaneously, enrich our society
with innovative ideas from new members. Though this
effort is just in its embryonic stage, the TOS Council has
begun to formulate plans to recruit TOS members from
the corporate, nonprofit, and government agency sectors.
Though I do not know of any direct TOS efforts
to diversify our community, Oceanography mag-
azine has certainly highlighted women in oceanogra-
phy, most notably with its first Women in Oceanography
issue in March 2005, still the most requested volume of
Oceanography, and its follow-up a decade later as a sup-
plement to the December 2014 issue. Still, we have seri-
ous work to do in expanding our professional ranks to
include underrepresented minorities. At a recent meet-
ing with the presidents and executive directors of the
American Geophysical Union and the Association for the
Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, it was under-
stood that we would all be best served by combining
resources and ideas to develop a plan for diversification.
On this front, it is fair to say that we are just at the starting
line. To move forward, all ideas are welcome.
So, my overall view is that though there is work to do,
TOS is responding to changes in our profession. If I had
to describe TOS’s shift over the past few years, it would
be a shift away from thinking of ourselves as a profes-
sional society toward thinking of ourselves as a pro-
fessional community. Indeed, a community’s role is to
build networks, collectively support students, provide
equal opportunity and access to all talented individuals,
and be a trusted source of information. TOS is building
that community.
On the latter point, I can think of no individual who
does a better job of building the TOS community than
Jenny Ramarui, the TOS Executive Director. I finish my
term as TOS President with gratitude for Jenny’s guid-
ance during these past two years, but also with a deep
appreciation for her commitment to our TOS commu-
nity. TOS moves through presidents every two years, but
Jenny keeps a firm hand on the helm, guiding this com-
munity of oceanographers. We all owe her our thanks.
It has been an honor serving as TOS president. I am
delighted to hand the reins next month to Alan Mix,
Professor and Director of the Stable Isotope Laboratory
in the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences
at Oregon State University. I look forward to continuing
to work with him and all of you on the betterment of
this TOS community.