Former faculty member urges graduates to help their profession

Dr. Jim O’Rourke, who was on the CSC agriculture faculty 14 years and is a state, national and international leader in range management, said there is a big difference between having a profession and having a job. He described a profession as an occupation to which one devotes oneself while a job is merely a source of a paycheck.

O’Rourke urged the graduates to become active in their professional societies.

“Are you a member of a professional society or organization that represents your field of study,” he asked.

“Are you a volunteer committee member or officer within that group?”

“Do you regard attending meetings of that society as a professional obligation even if it is at your own expense?”

O’Rourke said a profession will not survive without the political support of its professional society, and the professional society will not survive without support from those in the profession.

The speaker noted that the reward for volunteering and working in professional societies is often not much more than the internal satisfaction of knowing the organization and thus the profession has benefited. But the professional growth can lead to promotions and financial benefit, he added.

“In the end you will have a warehouse full of rich memories, but maybe not a lot of toys. Your professional dedication will have brought you these more than just your job.”

“Welcome to the world of leadership,” O’Rourke concluded.

O’Rourke has been president of the International Society of Range Management as well as the Nebraska Section. He is currently president of the International Rangeland Congress, which meets every four years at locations around the world. The next meeting will be in Inner Mongolia in 2008.

He also is in his second year as a member of the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Postsecondary Education.