The founding of the Mid-West Primate Interest Group (MPIG) began with a series of conversations among Robert W. Sussman (Washington University, St. Louis), Paul A. Garber (University of Illinois, Urbana), Agustin Fuentes (Notre Dame), and Katherine MacKinnon (St. Louis University). We recognized that the midwest was home to a large number of outstanding research institutions, biological anthropology and primatology programs, students, and faculty. Acknowledging that national meetings are often very large, intimidating, and somewhat impersonal, our goal was to create a yearly local conference in which graduate students, undergraduate students, and faculty could come together as an intellectual community to discuss new theoretical ideas and present recent research. Moreover, we were determined to construct an environment for MPIG in which students could ask questions, explore ideas, and get feedback from more senior scholars.
The first MPIG Conference was held in Urbana, Illinois in October 2004, and was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. The conference included poster and podium presentations, as well as a roundtable discussion of primate conservation problems and strategies for environmental improvement.
Roundtable panelists included Robert Sussman (Department of Anthropology, Washington University), Alejandro Estrada (Estacion de Biologia Tropical Los Tuxtlas, Instituto de Biologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico); Thomas Gillespie (Departments of Anthropology and Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Tony Goldberg (Departments of Anthropology and Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Agustin Fuentes (Department of Anthropology, Notre Dame), and Ingrid Porton (Curator, Saint Louis Zoo).
The second MPIG Conference was held in St. Louis, MO in October 2005, and was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology, Washington University. The conference included poster and podium presentations, as well as a roundtable on cooperation, and altruism primates.
Roundtable panelists included Robert Sussman (Department of Anthropology, Washington University), Agustin Fuentes (Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame), Paul Garber (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Kerrie Lewis (Department of Anthropology, Washington University), Katie MacKinnon (Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and Center for International Studies, St. Louis University), Jennifer Rehg (Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville), and Zuleyma Tang-Martinez (Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis).
The third MPIG Conference was held in Urbana, Illinois in October 2006, and was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. The conference included poster and podium presentations, as well as a roundtable discussion of new technologies in field primatology.
Roundtable panelists included Thomas Gillespie (Departments of Anthropology and Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Tony Goldberg (Departments of Anthropology and Veterinary Pathobiology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Ripan Malhi (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Nancy Stevens (Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine, Ohio University, Athens), Rebecca Stumpf (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Robert Sussman (Department of Anthropology, Washington University), and Barth Wright (Department of Anatomy, Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences, Kansas City).
The fourth MPIG Conference was held in Carbondale, Illinois in October 2007, and was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University. The conference included poster and podium presentations, as well as a roundtable discussion on primates in the wild and in captivity.
Roundtable panelists included Kevin Hunt (Department of Anthropology, Indiana University, Bloomington), Dario Maestripieri (Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago), Matthew Nowak (Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), Leila Porter (Department of Anthropology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb), Ulrich Reichard (Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale), Rebecca Stumpf (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Michael Wilson (Department of Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis).
The fifth MPIG Conference was held in South Bend, Indiana in September 2008, and was sponsored by the Department of Anthropology at Notre Dame University. The conference included poster and podium presentations, as well as a roundtable discussion on primates.
Roundtable panelists included Paul Garber (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Ulrich Reichard (Department of Anthropology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale),Hogan Sherrow (Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Ohio University, Athens), Rebecca Stumpf (Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois, Urbana), Robert Sussman (Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis).