July 11, 2006

Carnegie Museum of Natural History Collection Manager named President-Elect of the American Society of Mammalogists

Pittsburgh …Suzanne McLaren, Collection Manager in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History, has been named President-Elect of the American Society of Mammalogists (ASM) at their annual meeting June 17 -21 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. McLaren will be only the third female president and the first non-PhD. president in over 50 years. McLaren was formerly ASM's Recording Secretary.

As President-Elect, McLaren will serve a two-year term (2006-2008), and then transition into the position of ASM President, serving as leader of the world's oldest and largest scientific organization devoted to mammals. She will serve on standing committees, ad hoc committees, or special assignments as mutually agreed with the President. She will also organize the Merriam Award presentation (the Merriam Award is given for outstanding research with mammals), serve as a representative to the Federation of International Mammalogists that is intended to become the governing body which oversees the International Mammalogical Congress, and several other administrative and management functions.

"It's a tremendous honor for Sue," said Dr. John Wible, Carnegie Museum of Natural History's Curator of Mammals. "It is extraordinarily rare that someone without a Ph.D. is elected to head a prestigious scientific society such as ASM. It shows how well respected Sue is by the mammal community.

McLaren received her Master of Science in Biology at Shippensburg University in 1978. She began working in the Section of Mammals at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in September of 1977. Her research interests include the ecology and taxonomy of mammals of the eastern United States, especially Pennsylvania and West Virginia. She is an active member of the Mammal Technical Committee of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey.

She also has interests in natural science collection care, preservation and documentation. She served as President of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections from 2000-2002. Sue has been a member of the American Society of Mammalogists since 1973, chairing and serving on numerous committees over the years. She served one term as a Board Member before being elected Recording Secretary in 2001. Also in 2001, Sue also received the Hartley H. T. Jackson Award in recognition for long and outstanding service to the American Society of Mammalogists.

The American Society of Mammalogists was established in 1919 for the purpose of promoting interest in the study of mammals. In addition to being among the most charismatic of animals, mammals are important in many disciplines from paleontology to ecology and evolution. As mammals, ASM is in the interesting position of studying themselves in quest of a greater understanding of the role of mammals in the natural world.

The ASM is currently composed of nearly 4,000 members, many of whom are professional scientists. Members of the Society have always had a strong interest in the public good, and this is reflected in their involvement in providing information for public policy, resources management, conservation, and education. It publishes the highly-ranked periodical Journal of Mammalogy and Mammalian Species, as well as Special Publications.

Carnegie Museum of Natural History, one of the four Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, welcomes 350,000 visitors a year and reaches another 150,000 through educational outreach programs. Its mammal research collection is the eighth largest in the western hemisphere and its total collections exceed 21 million objects, specimens, and artifacts.

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