Vincent Ellis McKelvey

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Vincent Ellis McKelvey
Director of the United States Geological Survey
In office
1971 (1971)–1978 (1978)
Preceded byWilliam Thomas Pecora
Succeeded byHenry William Menard
Personal details
Born(1916-04-06)April 6, 1916
U.S. Geological Survey
ThesisStratigraphy of the phosphatic shale member of the Phosphoria formation in western Wyoming, southeastern Idaho, and northern Utah (1947)

Vincent Ellis McKelvey (April 6, 1916 – January 23, 1987) was an American

Law of the Sea Conference of the United Nations
, where fellow delegates often depended on his ability to render complex scientific issues into plain English.

He joined the

Geological Survey in 1971 shortly before he became its ninth director, a post he held through 1977.[1]

McKelvey Diagram, 1973

The McKelvey diagram (or box), a visual representation of how to classify a particular mineral resource based on the value of its production (economic, marginal, etc.) and the geologic certainty of its presence (measured, inferred, hypothetical, etc.), is named after him.[2][3]

United States Geological Survey career

In 1971, after

phosphates, had headed the Survey's program of exploration and research for the Atomic Energy Commission
for several years, had been deeply involved in sometimes controversial estimates of long-range energy and mineral-resource needs, and had most recently been engaged in studies of seabed resources.

McKelvey's term as Director was marked by an increase in multidisciplinary studies and in the diversity and complexity of

Geological Survey
.

In 1976, Congress transferred jurisdiction of the Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from the Department of the Navy to the

Survey
. The new activity brought with it a 50-percent increase in funds, but most of the increase was for contractual services.

Forced resignation

McKelvey was a “cornucopian” who believed that availability of natural resources such as oil and gas was limited mainly by the technology used to extract them. But with the election of Jimmy Carter in 1976, McKelvey found his views out of favor with the administration.

In September 1977, the Assistant Secretary of the Interior Joan Davenport called on McKelvey and asked for his resignation. McKelvey said that he resigned for the good of the USGS, and told reporters that he had been told that secretary Cecil Andrus wanted to have his own team.[7][8]

This was the only instance in the history of the USGS that a director was removed because of differences with the presidential administration. Some USGS employees worried that the Survey’s science would become politicized.[9][10] Newspaper editorials in the Wall Street Journal and other papers defended McKelvey as an outstanding scientist, and criticized the Carter administration’s unprecedented removal of McKelvey as a blow to the scientific independence of the USGS.[11]

From 1978 until his death at his home in

Geological Survey and also taught at the Florida Institute of Technology
during the early 1980s.

Personal life

McKelvey was married to Genevieve Bowman McKelvey. They had one son, Gregory McKelvey.[citation needed]

Awards and honors

Publications

References

  1. ^ Saxon, Wolfgang (1987-01-26). "Obituary: Dr. Vincent E. McKelvey, 70; Once Led Geological Agency". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-01-10.
  2. JSTOR 27842943
    . Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  3. ^ Hall, Matt (18 October 2011). "McKelvey's reserves and resources". Agile* Blog: Views and news about geoscience and technology. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  4. ^ Enslin, Rob (July 13, 2017). "Alumnus Posthumously Named to National Mining Hall of Fame". SU News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  5. OCLC 609285449
    .
  6. OCLC 940503378 – via ProQuest
    .
  7. ^ UPI, “Geological chief forced to quit,” Tampa (FL) Tribune, 7 Sept. 1977, p.2.
  8. ^ USGS History: A New Age Begins - accessed January 10, 2009
  9. ^ Don Kirkman, “Geological Survey director ousted,” Pittsburgh (PA) Press, 7 Sept. 1977, p.9.
  10. ^ “Energy crisis will shake up quiet agency,” Detroit (MI) Free Press, 2 Nov. 1977, p.64.
  11. ^ “Good Bye Dr. McKelvey,” Wall Street Jour., 16 Sept. 1977, p.18.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h Geophysics: The Leading Edge of Exploration - accessed January 10, 2009
  13. ^ "Mckelvyite-(Y)". mindat.org. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
  14. ^ Milton, Charles; Ingram, Blanche; Clark, Joan; Dwornik, Edward (1965). "Mckelveyite, a new hydrous sodium barium rare-earth uranium carbonate mineral from the Green River Formation, Wyoming". American Mineralogist. 50: 593–612.

External links


Government offices
Preceded by Director of the United States Geological Survey
1971–1978 		Succeeded by
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