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Vol.24, No. 02 Sept. 11, 1998

Ornithological Congress Elects Walter J. Bock as President

At the 22nd International Ornithological Congress held in Durban, South Africa, in August, Professor Walter J. Bock of the Department of Biological Sciences, was elected president of the 23rd Congress to be held in Beijing, China in 2002. Bock served since 1986 as the first Permanent Secretary of the IOC, and is the fifth American to hold the position of president.

The International Ornithological Congress is one of the oldest international congresses in the biological sciences, being founded in Vienna in 1884 where members gathered largely to discuss avian migration. The scope of these congresses increased rapidly to include all of avian biology. The 22nd congress was the first to be held in Africa, and the 23rd will be the first held in Asia.