Nominations are now open for the next class of Fellows, a membership category established to recognize individuals who have made truly notable contributions to marine mammal science or its practical applications in conservation. Eligibility details and nomination instructions are provided below.
ELIGIBILITY
Any current Full member of the SMM after being a Full member for a minimum of five years is eligible. These five years do not have to be contiguous. Please confirm with the nominee that they meet the five-year eligibility criterion prior to submission.
The current members of the SMM Board (which includes elected officers and committee chairs) are not eligible for consideration for the Fellows status, but can nominate other members. Fellows invited to be Fellows Committee members 2025-2026 cannot submit nominations.
HOW TO NOMINATE
If you are a current SMM member, you may nominate an eligible SMM member as a Fellow. We ask that you complete the submission form and submit your Fellows Nomination by 15 December 2025.
Nominations for Fellows will be submitted through an online form, which is accessible only to current Society members. Members will be required to log in to view and complete the form, ensuring that only eligible individuals are able to nominate a fellow member for consideration.
Each dossier should include the following elements:
(1) Letter of Nomination
This letter should highlight the nominee’s service, notable contributions to advancing and sharing marine mammal science, and efforts to apply this knowledge to marine mammal conservation.
The Committee will consider the following factors:
(a) service to the Society;
(b) contributions to marine mammal science including activities such as publications and presentations, field work, research and development, or administrative and logistical support; or
(c) contributions to the teaching or dissemination of knowledge of marine mammal science and conservation. Due to the diversity of disciplines and activities of The Society for Marine Mammalogy members, the relative importance of these factors will differ from candidate to candidate. The Fellow candidate would be expected to be exemplary in, and have made substantial contributions to, at least one of these factors (e.g. be in the top 10% of the membership).
(2) Seconding Letters
The dossier should also include two seconding letters, one of which must be from a current SMM member. Signed-in SMM members can search for all current members via the SMM Member Directory. Each seconding letter can be no longer than one page (12 pt font).
(3) Complete Curriculum Vitae of the Nominee
The format and length of this document is unrestricted, as we are encouraging nominations of individuals from broadly different backgrounds and the standard CV formats across fields are likely different. Note that only text should be submitted as part of the CV. If audio or video files are relevant provide a link in the documents submitted.
(4) Citation for the Fellow
Proposed maximum 20-word citation for the Fellow (e.g., Kenneth S. Norris – for efforts to found the Society and contributions to the process of dolphin echolocation and hearing).
PLEASE NOTE: To view the nomination form and submit a nomination, you must be signed in to your SMM member profile. Please sign in before clicking the link.
Nominations will be accepted until 15 December 2025. To submit your nomination, click HERE.
DOSSIER REVIEW PROCESS
The dossiers will be received by the committee co-chairs and the SMM Members-at-Large.
Identifying information about the nominator and seconders will be redacted from each dossier to ensure a blind review. The Fellows Committees will be co-Chaired by the Members-at-Large, who will form a committee of seven members holding Fellow status, and at least one contributing, but not voting student member, with attention paid to diversity of representation. Members will serve staggered, four-year terms. For more information about the Fellows Committee, please see the General Operating Policies of our SMM governing documents.
QUESTIONS
If you have any questions about the nomination process, please reach out to the Co-Chairs of the Fellows Committee, our Members-at-Large at: fellows@marinemammalscience.org
For any technical questions regarding the online application, please email admin@marinemammalscience.org.