Nick Rogers reflects on his two years as President
Being President of the Geological Society of London has been both a pleasure and a privilege and one that I did not expect to happen - until I realised that anything is possible if you throw your hat in the ring!
One of the joys has been getting to know colleagues from different geological backgrounds and attending events that I would not have the opportunity to do otherwise. I never cease to be amazed by the range of knowledge and skills acquired by professional geologists and the different spheres in which we operate. I have greatly enjoyed working with the staff and Council, all of whom I have found supportive to me personally, for which I am extremely grateful.
There have been many high points during my two years at the helm, including numerous public lectures, both my own and others, and President’s Day. One that is firmly imprinted in my memory is the book launch for William Smith’s Fossils, when the guest of honour was David Attenborough, arguably our most illustrious Honorary Fellow. It was such a pleasure showing him around the Society’s premises -he is still very much a geologist at heart.
Various subjects have been matters of ongoing discussion throughout the past two years. Most significant has been the lease and it is one of my regrets that we have yet to resolve this. Another is climate change. My term of office started with an open letter from a small number of Fellows arguing against anthropogenic causes. Meanwhile, at least two Fellows have resigned because of the Society’s close association with the hydrocarbon industry, while the Petroleum Group dinner at the Natural History Museum was picketed by Extinction Rebellion. The protest was all very good-humoured - if a little noisy!
Such incidents illustrate how the public perception of the petroleum industry, and hence geology, is changing. Once the saviour of the national economy through the discovery of North Sea oil, petroleum is now cast in the role of villain as one of the major causes of global climate change. Of course, such arguments are simplistic, but if we are to maintain public credibility, we need to change the story we tell about geology and geologists. Adopting a position of climate scepticism does not help in developing that new narrative which the Society, as the authoritative and independent voice of geology, is well placed to undertake.
One of the Society’s great strengths is that it is a place where academia and industry meet and interact, with benefits to both sectors. So the decline in academic Fellowship came as a surprise and is a problem that we need to address with some urgency. Without a solid academic membership the Society risks losing an important part of its purpose and identity. Moreover, if we are to develop the new narrative, we need contributions from geoscientists of all backgrounds. Only then will we be able to send out a clear message to attract young people into our exciting science, for it is they who will enable geology to continue for the benefit of future generations.
As to advice to my successor, or any future president, make sure you set things in motion while President designate. I know that Mike Daly has certainly hit the ground running and I look forward to developments under his stewardship. For personal reasons, I didn’t manage to do this and so one of the projects I really wanted to get underway, a review of the Society’s Degree Accreditation scheme, was delayed significantly and is now delayed further by corona virus. That year as president designate also allows you to roam freely and ask questions, to find out how the organisation ticks and discover some of the personal dynamics around the Council table.
Finally, the society is a collaborative effort between the staff and the fellowship and it cannot do what it does without both. So my advice to younger geologists, be they professional or academic, is to get involved. Many is the time I have heard ‘what do I get for my annual subscription?’ My response, to paraphrase J. F. Kennedy, is: ‘Ask not what the Society can do for you but what you can do for the Society’. My own personal experience has been that getting involved has been far more rewarding than I would have imagined at the outset.