Rotary past, present and Future

The Rotary Club of St Andrews will soon have been fulfilling its goal of ’Service above self’ for 100 years. However, like many voluntary organisations, it faces an uncertain future because of an ageing membership. Two years ago, it invited a multi-disciplinary group of St Andrews students to explore this predicament through a comparative study of five Rotary clubs. The project supervisor was Professor Ian Smith, from the School of Economics and Finance, whose further study of the matter was the basis for his talk. Various social forces have led to a decline in group memberships, as illustrated by Rotary UK with a drop from 65,000 in 1993 to 35,000 in 2023. Conversely, more individual activities have been gaining numbers, as exemplified locally by park runs and wild swimming. There are some interesting exceptions to this trend, such as the recent growth, after a significant drop, in the number of Scouts. For now at least, St Andrews is still one of the largest Rotary clubs in the UK, and its sister club, Kilrymont, is also above the average size. Both have much to offer in terms of fellowship and opportunities to serve the local community, and to help those in need elsewhere in the world. Professor Smith also spoke about the University’s redevelopment of the former Madras site in South Street. The Business School that will form a key part of the University’s first new college in nearly 300 years will have social responsibility as a core value. That aligns well with Rotary and could be the basis for a mutually beneficial relationship, perhaps involving the Rotaract Club that St Andrews initiated more than 10 years ago for university students. Ian’s talk generated a lively discussion, including reminiscences of what it was like for female members when Rotary first began admitting women and information from Wilber Sabiiti regarding the strong growth in Rotary membership in several African countries.