Society of Vertebrate Paleontology

SVP was founded as an independent society in 1940 by a group of scientists who had formed the 'section of vertebrate paleontology' in the Paleontological Society six years earlier. Among the founding members were George Gaylord Simpson, who was nine years later also a founding member of the Society for the Study of Evolution, and Alfred Sherwood Romer. SVP's members wanted to maintain a strong focus on evolution and zoology at a time when the Paleontological Society was becoming increasingly biostratigraphic and industry focused. SVP's first president was Al Romer (served 1940-41), and its current president is Stuart Sumida. Seven out of the last eleven of SVP's presidents have been women (Annalisa Berta, Catherine E. Badgley, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, Catherine Forster, Emily Rayfield, Margaret Lewis, and Jessica Theodor), as is the president-elect (Kristi Curry Rogers).