It has been a great honor to serve as The Oceanography Society President for the last two years. I have always been a fan of the Society, but getting to know the dedicated staff and working with the TOS Council has given me a far greater appreciation of the range of TOS activities and benefits. TOS is on firm financial footing after serving as lead society for the 2012 Ocean Sciences meeting in Salt Lake. As detailed in my last column and through correspondence with TOS members, we have launched a number of new activities geared toward students and early-career scientists who represent the future of a vibrant TOS. We are finding TOS’s niche within the landscape of our sister societies by organizing small-scale meetings on interdisciplinary oceanographic topics and providing services and support as the only society dedicated to professional oceanographers. The future is exciting for TOS, and it is a great time to get involved by serving on our committees, helping to organize focused meetings, or making suggestions for improving our oceanographic society.

Oceanography is truly interdisciplinary and is the only professional journal that offers in-depth articles ranging from the oceanography of global regions to marine research programs and related issues of immediate interest to society. The journal’s style avoids scientific jargon whenever possible and contains high-quality graphics so that it can be useful to congressional staffers and committees; recently, online media articles and blogs have linked to specific articles. The success and high quality of Oceanography is due to the great work and professionalism of our editor, Ellen Kappel, and her dedicated staff of two, Johanna Adams (designer) and Vicky Cullen (assistant editor).

TOS is very fortunate to have Jenny Ramarui as its Executive Director. Jenny manages the Society’s daily activities, communicates with members, oversees our finances, plans meetings, and executes myriad other activities. Jenny is a great ambassador for TOS and makes the duties of serving as TOS President enjoyable and rewarding.

On January 1, 2013, Mark Abbott, dean and professor at Oregon State University, will take the helm as TOS President. Mark is an extremely accomplished and well-respected scientist, a visionary and effective administrator, and a leader in oceanographic education issues. We can expect great things from Mark, and I look forward to working with him on the TOS Council as Past President.

– Mike Roman, TOS President

Roman, M. 2012. From the President—At the helm: Two exciting years as TOS President. Oceanography 25(4):5, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2012.106.

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