Cause for lamentation or jubilation?...
Nick Megoran
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Subject: Office of the Geographer being disbanded
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Dear Colleagues,
I understand from friends in the US Department of State that the Office of
the Geographer is being disbanded. The institution built by Boggs, Pearcy,
Hodgson, and Alexander, which had once been called upon by Congress to
define the "WesternHemisphere" for purposes of the Monroe Doctrine, is
ending after some 80 years. As a former member of the Office, I feel a
great sense of loss for myself, the profession of Geography,and my country.
It is my personal view that the core responsibilities of the former Office
have been understaffed in recent years. The Office stopped publishing
information on land boundaries and boundary guidance, because of
insufficient manpower. I believe that the operational people who currently
handle boundaries and place names will continue to function in other
units--under other names. However, it is hard to imagine that the statutory
responsibilities of the Secretary of State for boundary depictions and
foreign place names will be met over the long-term without a dedicated
institutional framework. I am also concerned for the historical records and
boundary files that were maintained in the Office.
The name, "Office of the Geographer," had value, in itself, as a point of
contact for geographers, government agencies, boundary specialists,
reporters, the public, and even the White House. (I remember fielding
geographic information questions about planned presidential speeches.) The
loss of this institution, with its illustrious name, bodes ill for boundary
specialists everywhere.
The plans to disband the Office have not been finalized. If you feel this
would be detrimental to boundary specialists, I suggest you contact the
Secretary of State (U.S. Department of State; Washington, DC 20520; or
e-mail: [log in to unmask]) or one of the US Senators who oversee the
Department: Senators Hollings or Gregg or Byrd (Office of Senator xxx; U.S.
Senate; Washington, DC 20510; or through their web pages at www.senate.gov).
With regret,
Dan Dzurek
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