This past August, Lab director John Fitzpatrick became the new president of the American Ornithologists' Union (AOU) during the group's annual meeting, held this year in St. Johns, Newfoundland. The AOU is the oldest scientific organization in North America and the Western Hemisphere's largest professional organization dedicated to promoting scientific research relating to bird biology. The society includes the committee that reviews the latest findings and selects the official English and scientific names of North American birds. Since 1883, the AOU has published the premier technical ornithological journal, The Auk. Past AOU presidents include Ernst Mayr, Francis James, and Glen Woolfenden. Fitzpatrick succeeds Frank Gill, currently senior vice president for science at the National Audubon Society and author of the renowned textbook, Ornithology. Fitzpatrick's term as AOU president runs for two years. During this time, he looks forward especially to increasing the role of the AOU's Conservation Committee in producing white papers that address the most pressing conservation problems facing North American birds."I am deeply honored to serve among the ranks of America's most respected ornithologists," says Fitzpatrick. "For more than one hundred years, ornithologists have made pivotal contributions in the scientific fields of ecology, evolutionary and behavioral biology, and natural resource management. It is particularly exciting to help lead scientific ornithology as we enter the 21st century, an age in which birds play a larger role than ever as barometers of environmental change."