Governance

The AOU is governed by a 12-member Council and four officers (President, President-Elect, Treasurer and Secretary), all elected by the membership. All administrative decisions are made by Council, except that Fellows must also approve changes to the Bylaws. Most ornithological activity of the AOU is conducted by committees.

Bylaws

The most recent published version of The Bylaws of the American Ornithologists' Union, as amended through 1989, appeared in The Auk 107(1,Suppl):1-7. However, a major revision of the Bylaws was given final approval by the Fellows at their meeting in August, 2003, and came into effect at the end of that Stated Meeting. The revision affects many aspects of the operation of the society. Additional revisions were approved by the Fellows in 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2011. The current bylaws, incorporating revisions approved through 2011, are available here:

• Bylaws of the American Ornithologists' Union (PDF, 29KB)