Cooper members vote to merge with the AOU

August 4, 2016
Martin G. Raphael
President, Cooper Ornithological Society
3625 93rd Ave SW
Olympia, WA 98512
mraphael@fs.fed.us

Dear COS Members,

Thank you for taking the time to vote on our proposed Plan of Merger with the American Ornithologists’ Union (AOU) to form the American Ornithological Society (AOS). The votes have been tallied and the COS membership has approved the plan. We received over 700 votes, a response of more than 55% of members. Of those voting, more than 85% voted in favor of the Plan, approximately 10% voted against, and 2% withheld (abstained).

The next step is for AOU to approve the Plan of Merger at the North American Ornithological Conference later this month. The AOU Articles of Incorporation and By-laws require this to be done by a vote of the AOU Fellows, which will take place at their annual meeting on 16 August 2016 at 4 pm. They will be asked to approve an update of the Articles of Incorporation under D.C. law, and By-laws changes to accommodate incorporating COS publications and renaming the AOU to the American Ornithological Society (AOS).

I will be back in touch once that vote has been finalized and let you know more about the next steps in this historic process. Thank you again for taking the time to cast your vote.

Sincerely,

President, Cooper Ornithological Society