Statements & Announcements

Advancing GSA’s Mission Toward Greater Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – [26 August 2020]

Each year, GSA holds a leadership retreat to focus on critical issues for our Society. Such concentrated time allows for in-depth learning, analysis, and discussion. This year’s retreat, held on 22-23 August, was focused on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Our aims were to evaluate related activities in GSA’s 2019 Decadal Strategic Plan, to amplify our efforts with fresh perspectives, and to reinforce our commitment to positive change. To achieve these goals, the GSA Executive Committee and GSA staff were joined by 20 invited diversity leaders in the geosciences. Helping to guide us through the process was experienced facilitator and expert trainer Dr. Nita Mosby-Tyler of The Equity Project LLC , whose task it was to help us identify activities likely to have a measurable and lasting impact.

Priorities identified for improvement during the retreat included four target areas:

Communication and Transparency
Mentoring and Support
Revising the Nominations and Awards Process
Creating Diversity in Leadership and Meetings Participation

We are distilling the wealth of recommendations and advice from the retreat into obtainable and impactful goals to be shared soon. These goals will be integrated into our Strategic Plan, alongside existing initiatives , activities, and committees focused on DEI efforts.

We, GSA’s president and president-elect, are confident that this will be a successful approach to addressing issues of equity facing the geosciences and that actionable outcomes will position GSA to move forward in meeting its goals in the most effective way. Most importantly, we now have a clear path ahead to better weave DEI efforts into the entire GSA structure, and in so doing, better serve all of our membership. GSA hopes to lead the geosciences in furthering DEI efforts.

Our path is defined. Next steps include approving goals and metrics at the Council leadership level for action before GSA 2020 Connects Online in October. Please watch for more to come as implementation of this critical work gets underway.

Doug Walker, GSA President
Barb Dutrow, GSA President-Elect

Retreat Participants: Sarah Aarons, Nicole Aikin, Hendratta Ali, Beth Bartel, Tahlia Bear, Dick Berg, Todd Berggren, David Davis, Barbara Dutrow, Rod Ewing, Rebecca Fazzari, Nicole Gasparini, Tom Haberthier, Jeanette Hammann, Jose Hurtado, Pat Kilner, Mark Little, Susan Lofton, Chris Maples, Debbie Marcinkowski, Vicki McConnell, Claudia Mora, Allie Nagurney, Nathan Niemi, Tim Shin, Don Siegel, Wendy Smythe, Nan Stout, Christa Stratton, Marilyn Suiter, Doug Walker, Wes Ward, Lisa White, Kasey White, and Sherilyn Williams-Stroud.

# # #

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Accountability Update – [25 June 2020]

On 1 June, GSA issued a statement affirming our solidarity with our fellow Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) colleagues and their families in facing injustice. Since then, a lot has happened inside and outside GSA. GSA supports the changes and initiatives we are seeing within the geoscience community, such as the notimeforsilence petition, and we’re actively focusing on improvements within our own organization. GSA Council continues to prioritize diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) because it is the right thing to do and leads to better science. They will be sharing their ideas and actions. More details and information about DEI in GSA’s Decadal Strategic Plan can be found here. Join GSA and challenge us to build a more diverse, respectful, and inclusive space for all science, and scientists, to thrive. As GSA continues to seek meaningful and robust ways to support DEI initiatives, we encourage our members to take action and offer suggestions at diversity@geosociety.org.

Donald I. Siegel, GSA President
J. Douglas Walker, GSA President-Elect

# # #

GSA Statement About Diversity, Ethics & Inclusion – [1 June 2020]

This past week we witnessed a sadly familiar scene in the United States with the senseless death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. He joins other victims of overt racism and systemic discrimination. We all feel the pain, anger and sadness of these tragedies, but it is particularly acute for our African American members, their families, and other People of Color. GSA stands with all of our colleagues facing these injustices and is committed to challenging and changing the biases that lead to discriminatory practices against People of Color.

We condemn discrimination and harassment in any form, and are actively working to promote the ideals and principles of our position statements on Diversity in the Geosciences Community and Removing Barriers to Career Progression for Women in the Geosciences. GSA's Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct gives process to our vision and purpose for representing the best that our science can be.

The pain of recent events motivates us to push harder to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the geosciences. Addressing systemic oppression requires both immediate and long-term efforts while humbly acknowledging that the geosciences remain one of the least diverse academic disciplines in the sciences. In the weeks and months ahead, GSA leadership will be furthering our efforts toward building a more diverse, respectful, and inclusive space for all science, and scientists, to thrive. We ask the GSA membership to join us and to challenge us to make a real difference.

# # #

Earth Day Update from GSA – [22 Apr. 2020]

Happy Earth Day 2020! Who could have guessed that the 50th Anniversary of this celebration of our favorite subject would find us trapped indoors? Enjoy this 10-second tribute to planet Earth.

For the time being Colorado and Washington, D.C., remain under “stay-at-home” orders, but our staff is working remotely and fully engaged in moving GSA forward. We have some important announcements to share:

The North-Central Section meeting planners have elected to transition their Duluth, Minnesota, meeting to a virtual platform for presentation and participation on 18 and 19 May.

This is a bold experiment for them and for GSA staff, and we salute the session chairs and speakers who have agreed to lean in to this new way of sharing science. This meeting will be open to all, and it will be free to register this year. Mentoring sessions and career workshops will be a part of the total package. We are very pleased to offer this opportunity to help mitigate the inconveniences of COVID-19. Additional details will be coming soon, so be sure to visit the GSA North-Central Section’s 54th Annual Meeting website to learn more.
Opening of the abstract system, housing, and registration for GSA’s 2020 Annual Meeting in Montréal has been pushed back to 1 July. Our aim is to give everyone involved as much time as possible to gauge how circumstances are developing with regard to closures, travel restrictions, and so forth. Please stay tuned.

The GSA Council will be meeting (virtually) this weekend, 25-26 April, to consider a slate of important initiatives, committee proposals, and the fiscal year 2021 budget. The Geological Society of America is stable and strong, and we are focused on serving you in the better times ahead even as we adapt to present difficulties.

We hope that you and your families are healthy, and we thank you for all you are doing for the scientific community.

Vicki McConnell
GSA Executive Director

# # #

COVID-19 Update from GSA – [17 Mar. 2020]

Dear GSA Members and Friends:

On behalf of the GSA Council and staff, I am sending this message of support and good wishes to all who are impacted by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The safety and well being of our communities across the U.S., and the entire globe, are our highest priorities. We are following precautionary safety measures provided by state and national authorities including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and we want to update you on steps we are taking, recent programmatic impacts, and how we will communicate future developments as they relate to GSA.

Our goal is to deal with the challenges of COVID-19 as proactively, thoroughly, and thoughtfully as we can. These decisions are not easy and we understand that we must all do our part to “flatten the curve.”

GSA remains open for business on our regular schedule, 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, MDT, with employees working remotely to respect “social distancing” guidelines. We continue to be responsive to emails and phone calls from members, partners, and other stakeholders, and are striving to minimize disruptions. We will update you should anything change on this front.

GSA travel for staff and volunteers has been suspended. Spring leadership meetings will be held virtually for the protection of all involved. The remaining three regional Section Meetings scheduled for May have been cancelled, but we are committed to finding innovative ways to continue delivering programs and services. Watch for updates about virtual options for these meetings.

The opening of abstract submissions, registration, and housing for our Annual Meeting in Montréal (24-28 October) have been moved back to early June, as we keep a close eye on developments and CDC recommendations for stemming the pandemic.

We will continue to monitor the latest updates in regard to COVID-19; recognizing that circumstances are fluid and situations may change quickly. We will all work to be as flexible as possible in monitoring and adapting our position in this changing environment. Again, we will continue to keep all our GSA friends and family updated on decisions in the days and weeks ahead.

We encourage all of you to give thoughtful consideration where you can to those who may be most affected, to support each other in your community, and to keep your spirits up. We are all in this together!

Best regards,

Vicki McConnell, GSA Executive Director