February 2014

After their term is up, presidents of the ESA give a speech. Originally a “President’s Address,” this task later became a primary project of the outgoing Past President. Addresses are given at the Annual ESA Meeting one year after the president leaves office and two years after a president takes office. They are published in the ESA Bulletin the following…

The Council Member-at-Large positions started in 1948 and were transferred to the Governing Board on its creation in 1995. Three members-at-large were elected for two-year terms.  In 2022 the position of Member-at-Large was eliminated and replaced by Governing Board Member.  Board Members serve three-year term. All officers assume their positions at the conclusion of the annual meeting. Past and current…

Originally, ESA members elected a President, Vice-President, and Secretary-Treasurer, so this was a combined role. A separate office of Treasurer was created in 1939, but was gradually supplanted by the Business Manager office, created in 1952/54. Transitions in office occur at the annual meeting each year. “For the first 22 years of its existence, ESA had a combination secretary-treasurer. Recognizing…

The Business Manager office began as a position supporting production of the Society’s journals in 1920. It was discontinued in 1995, with the reorganization that created a Governing Board and professional paid staff to replace the ESA Council that was organized in 1946. According to Robert Burgess, who wrote a history of the Society circa 1976: “Both major journals have…

Initiated in 2004, the Sustainability Science Award of the Ecological Society of America recognizes the authors of the peer reviewed paper published in the past five years that makes the greatest contribution to the emerging science of ecosystem and regional sustainability through the integration of ecological and social sciences. One of the most pressing challenges facing humanity is the sustainability…