Nathan J. Lederman President, Minnesota State University, Mankato Student Subunit; Minnesota State University Mankato, Department of Biological Sciences, 168 Trafton Science Center South, Mankato, MN 56001. E-mail: [email protected]
Andrew K. Carlson President, Student Subsection of the Education Section; Michigan State University, Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, East Lansing, MI 48823. E-mail: [email protected]
INTRODUCTION
The American Fisheries Society (AFS) plays a critical role in preparing fisheries students to become fisheries professionals. Membership in AFS provides students with multidimensional benefits, including membership in the Student Subsection of the Education Section (Subsection). The Subsection provides an organized forum for discussion of issues relevant to students and empowers aspiring fisheries professionals to become active members in AFS. One way students can be active and contribute meaningfully to the Society is by establishing a Student Subunit (Subunit) at their college/university. Although 65 Subunits are currently distributed throughout 39 states and one Canadian province, the AFS master list of fisheries schools indicates that 734 colleges and universities offer fisheries or closely-related degrees. Thus, there is ample room for students to launch Subunits throughout North America. The AFS has developed a simple seven-step process for Subunit formation (AFS 2014). However, after helping students initiate Subunits at Minnesota State University-Mankato (MNSU; 2013), Bemidji State University (2014), and the University of Minnesota-Duluth (2015), we can offer additional valuable advice for Subunit development. In this article, we describe how to select an advisor, recruit members, prepare for meetings, gain university recognition, and manage finances.