2026 AGU ELECTIONS
J. Scott Miller
AGU Board of Directors
Director II
Bio
Associate Vice President for Research and Innovation, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA
AGU embraces the global community and welcomes leaders representing various identities, voices and perspectives. List any identities, voices and perspectives you would bring, including but not limited to nationality, regional representations, racial and ethnic backgrounds, and anything else you feel comfortable sharing.
My perspective has been shaped more by who I have worked alongside and what I have worked to build than by where I started.
Over my career, I transitioned from laboratory science into organizational leadership across universities, federal agencies, and industry. I learned that science depends as much on the organizations and communities that enable it as on the discoveries themselves, which sparked interest in the systems that shape opportunity, recognition, and participation. Organizations make choices about whose contributions are visible, whose voices are heard, and how people find pathways into leadership and service.
I learned the profound value of perspectives and experiences different from my own, particularly when institutions make decisions affecting opportunity, recognition, and belonging. I work to build environments where contribution is visible regardless of career stage, affiliation, discipline, geography, or pathway into science. I believe excellence and broad participation are mutually reinforcing, and leadership carries a responsibility to create conditions where both thrive.
On the AGU Board, that perspective will inform my stewardship of the whole Union—not a constituency, discipline, or demographic, but a global scientific community whose enduring strength depends on the breadth of voices it engages and the opportunities it creates for future generations.
Volunteer experience that you feel relates to this position:
As Vice-Chair of AGU's Honors and Recognition Committee I have worked to expand access to scientific recognition while preserving the excellence and prestige that makes AGU honors meaningful. Additional governance service includes: Board Member, Arlington (TX) Economic Development Corporation; Board Member, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute / Caelaterra Systems; Former Board Chair, Junior Achievement of North Alabama; Former Committee Chair, Sci-Quest / The North Alabama Science Center.
Q&A
AGU’s Board of Directors is responsible for the governance, fiduciary and reputational health of the organization and handles its business affairs. The primary role of an AGU Board director is to partner with the other Board members and staff to lead the organization.
Board members work together with other volunteer leaders and staff to play a key role in implementing AGU’s strategic plan.
How do you imagine the global science ecosystem of the future, and how should AGU steward and empower its community to strengthen the organization and ensure lasting impact?
What must we begin doing today to prepare for that future?
What skills, experiences, and perspective would you bring to the Board in service to AGU’s mission?
Science has always depended as much on the organizations that enable discovery as on the discoveries themselves. The future science ecosystem will continue evolving toward a more distributed, interdisciplinary, and interconnected model. At the same time, expectations for science to inform decisions affecting communities, economies, and the environment will continue to grow.
To remain relevant, AGU must continue expanding pathways to participation, broadening how contributions are recognized, and strengthening connections across sectors and disciplines, not only within our Union, but across the broader communities that depend on science. These activities are investments in the long-term relevance and impact of the scientific enterprise. They help move scientific knowledge from discovery toward solutions that improve lives and strengthen communities.
AGU's greatest asset is more than a century of institutional credibility earned through rigorous science, ethical leadership, and global engagement. That credibility is foundational to AGU's ability to convene, inform, and lead, and allows AGU to strengthen public confidence that science serves society. Protecting and strengthening it is one of the Board's most important responsibilities.
As a member of the AGU Board, I will bring my experience leading science organizations across the research enterprise and serving mission-driven organizations in governance roles. Boards serve as stewards of a mission through both favorable and unfavorable conditions, and I will bring a stewardship perspective to this role. As a researcher turned organizational leader, I will bring strategic judgment, fiduciary discipline, and a commitment to help AGU remain a trusted institution for the global scientific community.