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this page President's Perspective: Introducing Your New President and The Year Ahead By Greg Finn, Ph.D., P.Geo.APGO President  As I write my first article for Field Notes, the Association of Professional Geoscientists of Ontario (APGO) has just held its 6th Annual General Meeting. The event was very well attended and the APGO thanks all those members and guests who came. Before I introduce myself to members, I want to recognize the contributions that Steve Usher, P.Geo., P.Eng., has made to the Association over the past year as president in addition to the 7 years on Council. Steve is the last of the original Councillors still serving. He has one more year to serve in the role of Past President and I look forward to continuing to work with him on Council and Executive in the coming year.
As I start my term as the APGO President, I thought I would tell you about my background, how I became involved in the APGO and what I would like to accomplish in the next 12 months as President. Currently, I hold the position of Associate Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences at Brock University, where I have been a faculty member since 1985. At Brock I have served as Department Chair, Associate Dean of Mathematics and Science and I currently hold the position of Vice-Provost and Associate Vice-President, Academic. My involvement with the Professional Registration of Geoscientists began in the late 90s, when, as department chair, Gary Pringle, acting on behalf of Association of Geoscientists of Ontario, contacted me for comments on the proposed syllabus for registration. In the summer of 2000, I received a phone call from Bill Pearson asking if I would be willing to serve on the Transition Council of APGO as the University Representative. In Bill's words "we are scheduling 4 meetings per year for the Council and it won't take up a lot of your time". I was about to begin a 6-month sabbatical and felt that I could fit this request into my sabbatical plans. In September 2000 I was appointed and served 3 years on the Transition Council, followed by 1 year as Councillor-at-large. For the record, there were in excess of 30 council meetings in this time frame. During these four years I also chaired the Registration Committee and was responsible for evaluating the transcripts of each applicant for admission. If you were registered during that time you received a phone call from me congratulating you on becoming a member and giving you your registration number. In 2004, I stepped down to, as they say, explore other opportunities, but with the tacit understanding that I would return to Council in the future. To ensure that I stayed connected to APGO, I was appointed as their representative on the Canadian Geoscience Standards Board, where over the course of the next 4 years the revised knowledge requirements for professional registration were drafted and presented to the Canadian Council of Professional Geoscientists. The revised knowledge requirements were recently accepted by the CCPG at their Annual General Meeting. I then returned to APGO Council in June 2007 as Vice-President. For the coming year as President I look forward to working with Council as the Association continues to move forward. One of the main items of business of Council will be to move the Strategic Plan, developed by Council in April, forward. The three components of the plan are: Governance - This will provide support and guidance for staff, Council, Committees and members. Enforcement and Compliance - It is time that all those who practice geoscience in Ontario are registered. Communications - To convey information to the numerous stakeholders in the profession of geoscience. For Council, I will ensure that the strategic plan will be on each meeting agenda. For the Membership I will ensure that regular updates are provided through communication in the Association's newsletter, Field Notes, and on the website. In addition, I want to ensure that the implementation of the revised knowledge requirements for professional geoscientists begins and that our Registration Committee develops procedures that will ensure a smooth transition period. For me personally, one of the major goals I want to see accomplished is an enhanced relationship between the Association and our Universities. I will endeavor to visit as many of the Geology/Earth Science Departments as possible in the coming year to make a presentation about APGO, introduce the revised knowledge requirements and to promote the Association to both students - as they are the future of the Association; and, faculty - as they are responsible for imparting the knowledge to students that we look for as the first step in the registration process. I look forward to the year ahead and reporting back to the membership at the 7th Annual General Meeting on the progress of these goals. |
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