History
IAGLR’s beginnings can be traced to the early 1950s, when a small group of U.S. and Canadian researchers decided to hold a conference on Great Lakes research issues. In July of 1953, the University of Michigan's Great Lakes Research Division (currently the Center for Great Lakes & Aquatic Sciences) sponsored the first Conference on Great Lakes Research. Held at the University's Biological Station at Douglas Lake, the conference was attended by about 50 persons representing the areas of hydrology, meteorology, geology, limnology and fisheries. The Conference was titled "The Upper Great Lakes," and brought together for the first time a group of Great Lakes scientists representing varied disciplines to discuss their programs, problems and plans for the future.
The University of Michigan's Great Lakes Research Division organized the conferences from 1953 until 1965, when a five-man steering committee was established to guide conference activities. This steering committee was composed of D. C. Chandler, University of Michigan; M. Fast, U.S. Public Health Service; J. E. Hayes, U.S. Lake Survey; G. B. Langford, University of Toronto; and J. W. Moffett, U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries; and assisted in 1965-66 by A. M. Beeton, J. G. Housley, A. D. Misener and W. S. Nichols.
In 1966, the steering committee proposed a formal organization of Great Lakes scientists. Conference attendees that year authorized the steering committee to take the necessary steps for the formation of the International Association for Great Lakes Research. The first official meeting of the association was held at the University of Michigan in April of 1967. Out of recognition of previous efforts to communicate among the Great Lakes research community, the conference itself was designated the Tenth Conference. At the time of the Tenth Conference in 1968, there were 225 members of the association. At this first meeting the members elected a Board of Directors consisting of D. C. Chandler (Chairman), A. D. Misener (Vice Chairman), A. M. Beeton, M. Fast, J. G. Housley, J. W. Moffett and A. T. Prince with J. F. Carr (Treasurer) and C. F. Powers (Secretary). Since that time the association has been guided by an elected Board of Directors with balanced representation from Canadian and U.S. members. The association has also hosted an annual conference since 1968, with locations alternating between the United States and Canada.
In 1974, the membership voted to change the IAGLR publication from an Annual Proceedings to a periodical journal. This publication change grew out of an effort to improve the scientific content of the association publication, but perhaps more important from the viewpoint of the organization, the change represented an evolution to a truly professional organization. The Journal of Great Lakes Research commenced publication in 1975.
Since 1974 the association has also presented a number of awards: Chandler-Misener Award; Anderson-Everett Award; Editor’s Award; IAGLR/Hydrolab Award as well as scholarships: IAGLR/Mott scholarships (1989-1993); IAGLR Scholarship (1987-present), Paul W. Rodgers Scholarship (2000-2016), GLFC Norman S. Baldwin Fisheries Science Scholarship (2001-present), and David M. Dolan Scholarship (est. in 2015).