August 07, 2015
Dr. Larry Johnson has held every officer position there is for the Texas A & M University Sigma Xi Chapter. For his service to Sigma Xi and its mission, he will receive the 2015 Evan Ferguson Award at Sigma Xi’s Annual Meeting October 22–25 in Kansas City, Missouri. Here, he shares his tips and experience as a chapter leader.
If I’ve had any success at all, it’s been because others have done the work for me and that we have been able to master getting people to do things for their reason as opposed to my reason. You try to make it match what they want to do. If you ask scientists to organize an activity, they won’t do it. But if you organize it and ask them to tell a bunch of teachers how they use the scientific process in their research, they would love to do it. We wanted kids to be involved in a writing and essay contest, and so the teachers were partners because that’s what they wanted to do.
What motivates me is success, that you see interest in others, that you see other faculty members come on board and become proactive in Sigma Xi. It’s always refreshing to see other people take leadership roles. And also, the mission of Sigma Xi: to promote science and reward scientists who have been productive. You continue to see things on a more university level and communicate with people that are in a different college or that have a different perspective than you have.
I think the people of Sigma Xi do a lot more than what is claimed to be “Sigma Xi activities.” College of Engineering—they have a whole youth science promotion program, the College of Science does that, you have the College of Agriculture working with 4-H. Chapters could partner with other departments at their university under the name of Sigma Xi. It would be good if you would tell the 4-Hers, "here is a professional society that you could aspire to be in."
These are excerpts from a Sigma Xi Google Hangout with Dr. Johnson. To hear his insight into the Annual Meeting and his advice for other chapter leaders, visit his award page.