Association of Women Soil Scientists

AWSS Timeline 1991-2000

By Margie Faber, AWSS Historian


1981-1982		Barb Leuelling, Soil Scientist, US Forest Service, Isabella, MN contacts 11 soil scientists to promote networking for women working in isolated locations.
1983		Barb Leuelling mails out AWSS newsletters regularly. Donna Duffy is Co-editor.
1984		Aimee Gelwick Walker becomes West Zone Editor, Donna Duffy is East Zone Editor, and Barb Leuelling is Middle Zone Editor. Newsletter publication is three times a year. Directory of members is published.
1985		Newsletter expands to up to 26 pages, three times a year. Constitution/Bylaws are adopted.
1986		Judy Wright is Editor, Bea McKamey is Co-Editor, and Margie Faber is Secretary/Treasurer. Judy Wright edits three newsletters. Membership is 64.
1987		T-Shirt "SOILS We can't grow without it" is sold for first time. Judy Wright edits three newsletters. Membership is 93.
1988		Directory of members is published. Judy Wright edits one newsletter.
1989		AWSS is inactive.
1990		Sharon Waltman edits one newsletter. Margie Faber edits two newsletters. "Mother Earth" question and answer column debuts. Directory of members is published. Membership is 116.
1991		Margie Faber edits three newsletters. Jennifer Brookover starts the tradition of guest-editing one newsletter. ASA asks AWSS members to volunteer for ASA committees. The first AWSS meeting at the ASA national meeting is held in Denver. Seventeen members, five new members, and 11 guests attend. Directory of members is published. Membership is 147.
1992		Mary West is Executive Committee Chair. Guest editors are Susan Samson, Jackie Pashnik, and Donna Duffy. Committees are organized: Executive, Newsletter, Mentoring, Directory, Meetings, Current Issues, Membership, Other Societies. AWSS discrimination/sexual harassment survey is conducted. AWSS support group is formed. AWSS meets at ASA meeting in Minneapolis, MN. The first AWSS meeting with SWCS takes place in Baltimore, MD. Membership is 170.
1993		Kathy Newkirk is newsletter Editor-in-Chief. Chris Clarke, Laura Merkel, and Kari Sever are Co-Editors. Gay Lynn Kinter becomes Secretary/Treasurer. Guest editors are Kathleen Mulholland, Jane Knox, Cheryl Simmons and Lillian Woods. Lydia Schlosser is T-shirt coordinator. AWSS meets at the SWCS meeting in Fort Worth, TX and at the ASA meeting in Cincinnati, OH.
1994		Guest editors are Kathi Wiederhold, Diane Shields, Debbie Harms, and Cheryl Simmons. AWSS meets at the SWCS meeting in Norfolk, VA and at the ASA meeting in Seattle, WA. Directory of members is published.
1995		Kathy Newkirk is Executive Committee Chair. Guest editors are Peggy Vogue, Laura Merkel, Kari Sever, and Margie Faber. AWSS meets at the SWCS in Des Moines, IA and at the ASA meeting in St. Louis, MO. AWSS poster "Women Soil Scientists in the Field" is displayed in St. Louis. Constitution/Bylaws are updated and AWSS is restructured. Cheryl Simmons becomes T-shirt coordinator. Directory of members is published.
1996		Maria Sadusky Pautler is Executive Committee Chair-Elect. Guest editors are Julia Nelson, Susan Casby-Horton, Gretta Boley, and Bob Grossman. AWSS session "Conservation, Customers, and Culture" is held at the SWCS meeting in Keystone, CO. AWSS poster "Treading on New Ground" is displayed at the ASA meeting in Indianapolis, IN.
1997		Newsletter format is revised and the newsletter is published three times a year. Guest editors are Ellen Huntley, Wendy Greenberg, and Lenore Matula Vasilas. AWSS meets at the SWCS meeting in Toronto, Canada and at the ASA meeting in Anaheim, CA. Margie Faber becomes AWSS Historian.
1998		Maria Sadusky Pautler is Executive Committee Chair, Kristin Bloser is Secretary/Treasurer, and Susan Samson-Liebig is Chair-Elect. Guest editors are Beth Rochette, Susan Casby-Horton, and Samantha Langley-Turnbaugh. Membership is 160. Directory of members is published. AWSS meets at the SWCS meeting in San Diego, CA and displays a poster and meets at the ASA meeting in Baltimore.
1999		Guest editors are Camilla Cornwell, Pat Farrell, and Susan Casby-Horton. AWSS meets at the SWCS meeting in Biloxi, MS and at the ASA meeting in Salt Lake City, UT. Membership is 113.
2000		Susan Samson-Liebig is Executive Committee Chair and Kari Sever is Chair-Elect.

More AWSS History

History and Genesis of AWSS
At the first and second AWSS meetings in 1991 and 1992,, founder Barb Leuelling talks about the beginnings of AWSS, her perspective on the present, and her hope for the future.

Women in Soil Science
Maxine J. Levin chronicles the history of women in the soil sciences 1895- present