Museum, University of Nebraska State
Date of this Version
2023
Citation
Journal of Mammalogy, 104(2):223–228, 2023
doi:10.1093/jmammal/gyac088
Abstract
The founders of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM), in the first Bylaws approved in 1919, established an honorary membership, writing: “Article II. Membership. Sec. 3. Honorary members shall be elected by a majority vote of the Society upon unanimous recommendation of the Council [= Board of Directors] in recognition of distinguished services to mammalogy” (By-laws and Rules adopted April 3, 1919). In the most recently approved ASM Bylaws, it is stated: “Honorary membership is conferred by the Society in recognition of distinguished service to mammalogy” (Article II, Sec. 6, ASM Bylaws, approved 15 June 2021). This simple sentence has been the only guidance that the Board of Directors of the ASM received in selecting honorary members over its first 102 years (see changes at https://www.mammalsociety. org/committees/honorary-membership). Considered to be the highest distinction bestowed by the Society, honorary members do not need to be a member of the ASM when selected, but clearly there is the expectation that the person will have made significant contributions in one or more of the principal activities of the profession—research, education, service to the ASM and similar organizations, and conservation. The ASM has chronicled its individual honorary members and amassed information about their accomplishments (Hoffmeister 1969; Layne and Hoffmann 1994; Taylor and Schlitter 1994; Heske and Bell 2019). We wish, however, to take a different approach, examining this select group of mammalogists as an assemblage and as subgroups to learn if there are shared characteristics or career paths.
Comments
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society of Mammalogists, www.mammalogy.org.