Who Are Today's Geographers?

Geographers can be found in many environments. As mentioned in previous columns, there are about 6,500 academics who are members of the main professional group-The Association of American Geographers (AAG-www.aag.org); there are about 1000 members of the National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE-www.ncge.org); there are 52 Geography Alliance Groups-mainly State-based-with about 120,000 schoolteacher members; there are 7 million members of the National Geographic Society; and there are many other geography graduates scattered through Federal, State, and Local governments, in business, and in the armed forces. Most people don't realize that in the Department of State's Division of Intelligence and Research there is a position called "The Geographer," which, in Federal Government terms, is the highest position in the USA that a geographer can hold (currently held by William Wood). This person feeds information directly into the policy and information arms of members of the Secretary's cabinet. The Census Bureau also has such a position-in fact, there is a "Geography Division" specifically identified there (Director Robert Marx). NASA has in the past employed a geographer with an interest in remote sensing, satellite image processing, and global cartography (Dr. Jack Estes) as liaison between NASA and institutions such as the US Geological Survey (USGS). The Head Geographer at USGS is John Kelmelis. Recently, USGS re-organized its administrative and operational structure, identifying 4 main regions in the USA. The titular head of each section is called "The Regional Geographer." So, while in a previous column I regretted that many people who are trained as geographers refuse to identify themselves as such, it is also clear from the examples above that geographers do have a special status that is acknowledged nationwide. And how many of you are aware that Microsoft has a large contingent of geographers collected as a special group that works on graphics, computer cartography, and visualization problems? The leading Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software company (ESRI-Environmental Systems Research Institute) has a substantial complement of geography-trained employees (as do many of its competitors) and enjoys a special and strong relationship with the Geography profession.

The Association of American Geographers is geography's principal professional organization. While its membership is dominated by college and university teachers (see Table 1), it caters to all categories of geographers. In particular, the AAG is striving to reach more practicing geographers and other scientists interested in environmental problems. A membership drive is underway, and it is targeting people employed in business and government. Why not explore what AAG offers and join this Association? I draw your attention in particular to plans to make The Professional Geographer journal a more user-centered publication with more ties to the worlds of government and business.

Table 1

AAG Membership by Occupation, 1998
Occupation	1998
	#	%
College/University	3077	44.5
Student	1862	26.9
Retired & Other	453	6.6
Federal Government	202	2.9
Other Government	205	3.0
Private Industry	450	6.5
Secondary School	48	0.7
Nonprofit Organization	74	1.1
Self Employed	142	2.1
Military	24	0.3
Research Center	74	1.1
Elementary School	14	0.2
Department Assistant	95	1.4
Not Categorized	111	1.6
Institutional Members	73	1.1
Corporate Members	6	0.1
Total	6,910	100.0

The discipline is also reaching out to encourage non-traditional groups to increase their membership. Table 2 shows the current male/female employment breakdown of the AAG. Obviously, there is an opportunity and a need to train and employ more females in the field. The same is true for ethnic and cultural minorities generally. Through solicitation of gifts and donations, the Association is pursuing a goal of creating awards and scholarships to enable members of these under-represented groups to obtain geography degrees. If you are looking for a good place to make a gift or donation, this project should provide such an opportunity.

Table 2

Occupation	Males: 1999		Females: 1999		Totals: 1999		PhDs: 1999
	#	%	#	%	#	%	%
College/University	2348	77.3	688	22.7	3036	46.5	84.7
Student	864	55.4	695	44.6	1559	23.9	9.0
Retired & Other	401	86.4	63	13.6	464	7.1	72.6
Federal Government	154	72.6	58	27.4	212	3.2	38.2
Other Government	147	69.0	66	31.0	213	3.3	20.2
Private Industry	312	69.9	136	30.4	448	6.9	20.0
Secondary School	28	59.6	19	40.4	47	0.7	8.5
Nonprofit Organization	38	54.3	32	45.7	70	1.1	28.6
Self Employed	88	63.3	51	36.7	139	2.1	38.8
Military	22	95.7	1	4.3	23	0.4	21.7
Research Center	53	76.8	16	23.2	69	1.1	59.4
Elementary School	3	33.3	6	66.7	9	0.1	0.0
Department Assistant	7	7.4	87	92.6	94	1.4	0.0
Not Categorized	33	47.1	37	52.9	70	1.1	27.7
Institutional Members	--	--	--	--	68	1.0	--
Corporate Members	--	--	--	--	6	0.1	--
Totals	4498	68.9	1995	30.0	6527	100.0	52.9

Like other professions that grew substantially because of the "Baby Boom" in the post WWII era, geography is showing its age (Table 3). As with the USA generally, the discipline is "graying." The last decade of the last century saw a burst of retirements that have produced fears of an overall disciplinary decline. It is probable that this "boomer" decline will continue through the early years of this new century. But there is a continuing healthy rate of production of new geographers. Similar to trends in other associations (e.g., political science, sociology, anthropology, geology) that appear to be facing membership decline, young geographers do not always see the advantages of joining a Professional Association. "The fees!" they cry. "What do we get for them?" It is, at times, hard to respond to this in terms of specific benefits to a particular person. As an AAG member however, you get tied into a progressive and energetic professional group whose scientific, educational, technical, and applied contributions reach you before they reach anyone else. You become a member of a group that has pioneered "Integrated Science" by combining its physical and human environmental research and teaching activities. Two journals (the Annals and The Professional Geographer) are included as part of your membership-they come out quarterly. A monthly Newsletter lists, among other things, job vacancies and upcoming events. Much of the Newsletter material is available on line as well as in hard copy. The AAG holds an annual meeting in one of the 20 largest cities in the USA, usually attended by about 3,500 participants-great for networking. Regional Divisions (New England and St. Lawrence Valley; Mid-Atlantic; Middle States; South-Eastern; East Lakes; West Lakes; South West; Great Plains-Rocky Mountains; and Pacific Coast) hold annual meetings and publish journals, newsletters, and yearbooks. And the AAG has developed information about professional specialists who can act as consultants, and other innovative information services (see latest additions to the AAG web page).

Table 3

AAG Membership by Five Year Age Cohort
Age	Number	%
>95	4	0.1
91-95	8	0.1
86-90	25	0.4
81-85	50	0.7
76-80	99	1.4
71-75	151	2.2
66-70	202	2.9
61-65	302	4.4
56-60	533	7.7
51-55	677	9.8
46-50	704	10.2
41-45	753	10.9
36-40	778	11.3
31-35	823	11.9
26-30	816	11.8
21-25	424	6.1
<21	15	0.2
Unknown	546	7.9
Total	6,910	100.0

So that's who represent today's geographers. A good cross-section of the USA employment profile. If you are a geographer (or have an interest in geography) and are reading this, and you are not yet a member of the AAG, think seriously about joining up. Table 3 illustrates that we need more young people, especially if we want to maintain a productive and viable representative organization at the national level. If you aren't a geographer, become one. Next time, I'll show how, even if you aren't trained as a geographer, your everyday life requires you to have a "common sense" grasp of the essentials of this discipline.

Reginald G. Golledge
Past President,
Association of American Geographers

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