Sue Haig
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Thinking Critically About "A Vision for the Society for Ornithology"
Sue Haig commented on John Marzluff's article in Community
HI Mercedes--thanks for your note. I agree with you completely. I think I was more responding to John's comments about passing judgement on the "Vision" before the full Plan was developed. Just to be clear--the original SFO committee disbanded. The three committees we now have (governance, publications, and finance) are made up of representatives from the 4 potentially interested societies--AFO, AOU, COS, and Waterbirds. We would be more than interested to hear comments or concerns by anyone. Already this week, we are working on some changes as a result of John's message. That does not mean everything suggested will be changed but there are so many aspects and details to attend to that the more eyes we have reading and thinking about SFO, the better it will be. As I have noted elsewhere, the committees are aiming for a draft plan to be ready for the NAOC. If the productivity gods smile on us, we will be able to email a draft to at least members of the interested societies before they leave for Vancouver. There will be numerous opportunities to hear about SFO and discuss it as a large group, by society, and one on one at the NAOC. So....keep those cards and letters coming.... Sue -
Thinking Critically About "A Vision for the Society for Ornithology"
Sue Haig commented on John Marzluff's article in Community
John--It is important to understand that the title of the document was "Vision for the Society for Ornithology". Not all is set in stone by any means. The potentially interested societies (AOU, AFO, COS, and Waterbirds) are currently meeting to create a plan that is more refined and agreeable to their members. Thus, I will not spend the time discussing each aspect you raise as things are changing everyday with respect to SFO. One issue we all need to understand, however, is that professional societies worldwide are declining financially and w/respect to members. Thus we are not alone but we need to get ahead of the curve. A good review can be found at: What is Important to Biological Societies at the Start of the Twenty-First Century? Author(s) :Susan Musante and Sheri Potter Source: BioScience, 62(4):329-335. 2012. Published By: American Institute of Biological Sciences URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1525/bio.2012.62.4.3 -
The SFO Vision Statement below represents the initial efforts to plan the Society for Ornithology. The document was prepared over the past year by senior ornithologists from across North America. It will now be used by a new committee comprised of 4 representatives from each of the ornithological societies in the Americas interested in helping further plan SFO. http://ornithologyexchange.org/files/file/17-%7B%3F%7D/ Between now and the NAOC in August 2012, the following will occur: The original committee to form the SFO will disband in a few weeks. A new set of SFO planning committees will be formed, comprised of 4 representatives from each society interested in further exploring the SFO’s structure. Societies have until 15 April to decide if they want to participate in this next round of planning. There will be a final planning document ready to present to all attending the NAOC. We will have a special session to listen to comments and provide feedback about the plan at the NAOC. This is an exciting time for ornithology, and the ongoing SFO plans show much promise for a strong future for ornithology in the Americas. We look forward to hearing from you on the forums listed below or please contact your society president. Susan Haig To share your thoughts with your society officers, consider commenting in one of these ongoing threads: AFO: Discussion of AFO’s association with proposed Society for Ornithology AOU: AOU Members Response to SFO VIsion SCO-SOC: President's message regarding SFO WOS: WOS' role in the Society for Ornithology -
A meeting held in Dallas, TX, 10-11 February 2012 Over the last several decades, profound changes with far-reaching consequences have occurred in the practice of science and in the diversity and capabilities of communication options (e.g., electronic publication; open access journals). These changes apply to all scientific fields and have produced a cascade of effects that challenge scientific societies generally and ornithological societies in particular. It is time for the ornithological community to embrace these challenges and benefit from the opportunities they offer. The Committee for the Development of the Society for Ornithology (SFO) has formulated a new vision for the future of ornithology in the Western Hemisphere that aims to advance the scientific understanding of birds, enrich ornithology as a profession, and promote a rigorous scientific basis for avian conservation through research, publications, education, and outreach. The SFO Committee met with the AOU Council and presidents of the Association of Field Ornithologists, Society of Canadian Ornithologists/Société des Ornithologistes du Canada, Cooper Ornithological Society, Neotropical Ornithological Society, and Wilson Ornithological Society to explore avenues to re-vitalize ornithology and its professional organization. The Committee had considered various options and developed a draft proposal. Key components of this tentative plan includes formation of a non-profit society governed by a Board of Directors composed of professional ornithologists and members of the philanthropic and business community; management by a professional staff; a new suite of journals, monographs, and books; cutting edge innovations in communications; a renewed dedication to science in support of conservation; and international efforts in outreach and education that span all ages and career stages among members. After two days of discussion, the group elected to move forward by developing a structure for a Society for Ornithology that will result in dissolving the original Committee to make way for a new committee with equal representation from all interested ornithological societies. In the coming months, members of all interested societies will be asked for input into the planning process. Please watch for a message from your society president within the next month that will link you to relevant documents and encourage comments from all interested ornithologists. A public forum for discussion will be held at the NAOC V in Vancouver, BC in August 2012. Signed, @John Faaborg (AOU President), @L. Scott Johnson (AFO President), Kim Sullivan (COS President), Jorge Perez-Eman (NOS President), @Erica Nol (SCO/SOC President), and @Bob Beason (WOS President) -
Follow the ongoing Society for Ornithology discussions
Sue Haig commented on Chris Merkord's article in Community
Photos from the historic meeting of the AOU Council, including all former presidents, and presidents of the Cooper Ornithological Society, Neotropical Ornithological Society, Association of Field Ornithologists, Wilson Ornithological Society, and Society of Canadian Ornithologists currently in session in Dallas, TX. https://picasaweb.google.com/111868492024708616895/AOUCouncilSFODiscussion?authuser=0&feat=directlink -
ANNOUNCEMENT: The Nuttall Ornithological Club has joined the group of ornithological societies interested in participating in discussions related to development of the Society for Ornithology. It will be great to hear their perspective on the various issues we face.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The Nuttall Ornithological Club has joined the group of ornithological societies interested in participating in discussions related to development of the Society for Ornithology. It will be great to hear their perspective on the various issues we face.
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John-- Every interested society, including the AOU, is at the same stage right now. They are waiting for a series of committees, made up of 30+ members of all the interested societies, to draft a plan they can take a look at in feb. Honestly, John, your questions in this forum are repetitive and can be answered by reading information I have already provided in this forum. I assume you are speaking from the RRF perspective. Given RRF has bowed out, I don't see why you care about this aside from being a wet blanket for something you will not be part of anyway. Thus, I will refrain from spending more of my time repeating information to you. Sue
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The Waterbird Society will join our ranks of interested societies. Thus, all OSNA societies except the RRF will join in our planning. The Neotropical Ornithological Society and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Research Group will join us as well.
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The Waterbird Society will join our ranks of interested societies. Thus, all OSNA societies except the RRF will join in our planning. The Neotropical Ornithological Society and Western Hemisphere Shorebird Research Group will join us as well.
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Hi Jay--nice to hear from you. I'm sorry you took so much time to review something where there really isn't much to review yet. I've given up trying to answer questions on this forum that would take pages and pages to answer when I have told people we are preparing those pages and they will be better presented in a report this spring than in this forum. That being said, to address your issues briefly: 1. The Governance and Management committee that I chair is reviewing membership issues. I can tell you that status such as "Fellow" etc would be retained in SFO. We are working on the dues being quite minimal --$25/year? 2. AOU 20XX, etc.: it was an AOU idea (!) but we now have lots of interested societies. However, I hear what you are trying to say. 3. Finances/endowments would be tricky and would take years to resolve. Thus, we are not depending on them for starters (aside from the AOU endowment). Finances are also being dealt with by my committee: Fitz, Frank Gill, Bonnie Bowen, Jed Burtt, and Stan Senner. The best people I know in ornithology to deal with such issues. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, Sue
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John--to be specific I would have to give you a plan that we have not finished. Thus, given no one is voting on anything anytime soon, I'm afraid you will have to wait until we have something to show the world--in February. Sue
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Dick--never would I think of listing you as supportive--no worries, there! However, I do appreciate your non-supportive ideas as we do have a dilemma. Part of the deal with SFO is to hire someone as a serious fund-raiser as we can't support our activities (w/o draining the endowment) w/o some help. And more than money, our membership decline and the fact that the average age of AOU members is in their 50's means we are are not being effective in our efforts to recruit and train ornithologists, let alone fuel the field of ornithology. So it is complex. By the by, if you double click on those figures, they get much bigger. I can email the membership figures if you's like. The bottom line is we have ~25% decline in AOU members since 1999. Can't do that too many times before we have no AOU. I'll pass your ideas on to the respective committees --more ideas are always welcome. Thanks! Sue
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ANNOUNCEMENT: The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Research Group will be joining our planning discussions. They are interested in the opportunity for a small group to have a home with the benefits of the management and meeting benefits offered by SFO yet retaining their identity via special workshops, sessions at annual meeting, etc.
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CORRECTION: Society of Canadian Ornithologists President Erica Nol just informed me that SCO/SOC should be included in the same interest category as AOU, COS, AFO, and WOS -- that is ...interested in participating in planning discussions but certainly not making any decisions at this point. It will be great to have SCO help us plan efforts for SFO!
